KC Chiefs peaked a week early. And now this loss to Cincy changes context of 13 seconds
One week earlier, the Chiefs had unfurled a comeback of epic proportions against Buffalo. Some wanted to call it the best playoff game in NFL history. Others figured it was the most suspenseful game in the history of Arrowhead Stadium. You could see the argument for both.
Whatever the case, that 42-36 overtime win over the Bills sure seemed to stand for something more than the moment itself.
That 13 seconds to glory, the stunning and unforgettable sequence that delivered the Chiefs to overtime, suggested that a return to the Super Bowl was almost meant to be.
It not only launched them into their fourth straight AFC Championship Game, but it also was an emphatic affirmation of how the Chiefs never-ever-ever are out of it with Patrick Mahomes as their quarterback.
To some, it likely even seemed like an inoculation of sorts from more postseason trauma. If they could wriggle out of that, after all, what couldn’t they overcome?
Perhaps that exhilaration carried with it a false sense of destiny or inevitability for fans heading into the game against Cincinnati on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
And, heck, maybe it had even had some emotional bearing on the Chiefs themselves, whether in the form of still being drained from such a high the week before or by planting a subconscious notion of security … especially when they took a 21-3 lead on Sunday.
This much we know, though: That game against Buffalo will and should remain cherished in Chiefs lore, but it lost its context and some of its luster in this weekend’s 27-24 overtime loss to the Bengals — a cave-in that cost the Chiefs a trip to their third straight Super Bowl.
The victory over Buffalo had conjured memories of epic calls in sports history, such as the “Do you believe in miracles?” gem from Al Michaels when Team USA beat the Soviets 4-3 in the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid.
Often forgotten, though, is that that game was in the Olympic semifinal. The U.S. team still had to defeat Finland to win the gold medal. Which it did days later, winning 4-2 to both take the gold and lend deeper meaning to the “Miracle On Ice.”
The Chiefs, alas, couldn’t optimize their win over Buffalo.
Now it’s a standalone snapshot, a marvel in itself but not part of a broader, deeper story.
This feeling may change over time, but right now it even feels anticlimactic given what happened Sunday.
Because one way or another, the Chiefs peaked a week early.
And any implication of inevitability was overrun by the reality of having to deliver anew every time you play.
The pendulum swung wildly back on Sunday, in fact.
The Chiefs were utterly unstoppable in the first half, taking a 21-3 lead and positioning themselves to make it either 24-10 or 28-10 in the final seconds of the half from the Bengals 1-yard line.
But they either overthought or underthought the opportunity, and the half ended with Tyreek Hill tackled in the flat and nothing to show for what might well have been a knockout punch.
Instead, they had an 11-point lead … which happened to be what they had at the intermission in Cincinnati (28-17) after Byron Pringle’s 89-yard kickoff return late in the half was called back for a holding penalty.
That coincidence might have seemed ominous if the Chiefs’ offense hadn’t been mulching the Bengals for 311 yards in the first half. For that matter, the Chiefs had scored 42 points in their other two postseason games. So there seemed scant reason to suppose that their offense would suddenly come unhinged.
But that’s exactly what it did, mustering all of 34 yards on the first five drives of the second half.
The first possession, another chance to generate a huge buffer, fizzled out in five plays.
The defense delivered, though, forcing a Cincinnati punt and furnishing another opportunity to pull away.
After completing 18 of 21 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, though, Mahomes and his receivers suddenly were out of sync. A second straight drive ended with two straight incompletions.
On their ensuing possession, the Bengals cut it to 21-13 with a field goal. Even so, come up with a touchdown on that series and the Chiefs would still have had command.
But then Mahomes had the gaffe of the game, a telegraphed and otherwise ill-considered pass that was batted and then snared by Cincinnati defensive lineman B.J. Hill.
Starting from the Chiefs’ 27-yard line, the Bengals needed just five plays to cut it to 21-19 and a sixth, a two-point conversion pass from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase, to tie it.
The Chiefs responded by … losing yardage on each of their next two series and finally falling behind 24-21 with 6 minutes 4 seconds left.
Even when the offense at last got it back together again, driving to first and goal at the Cincinnati 5 with 1:30 left, something went funky.
The game was there to be won outright, with the Bengals using their last timeout after Jerick McKinnon’s 1-yard run to the 4 with 1:26 left.
Blame the play-calling or blame the execution or even blame Mahomes, but somehow Mahomes was sacked for a 5-yard loss on second down and sacked yet again for a 15-yard loss on third down (the Chiefs were lucky his fumble was recovered by offensive lineman Joe Thuney).
So the Chiefs salvaged the moment with a field goal by Harrison Butker to send it to overtime, still boding well enough in the wake of last week. And it seemed all the more so when the Chiefs again won the coin-toss to give them a chance to end the game immediately with a touchdown drive … also like last week.
But three plays later, Mahomes threw his second interception of the game … one more than he had thrown in eight previous postseason games at Arrowhead combined.
Nine plays later, Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson drove through a 31-yard field goal attempt to win the game …
And shuff out one magical element of the Mahomes Era. There may yet be much more ahead, and if I were a betting man I’d bet several more Super Bowls are to come.
But the difference between last week and this week is a reality check. One that reminds us that the Chiefs may always be in it with Mahomes, but also that nothing is assured, no matter how much it might seem meant to be.
This story was originally published January 30, 2022 at 8:49 PM.