'Dumb' penalty decides Super Bowl chance

1 year ago 65

Patrick Mahomes scrambled for a archetypal down connected his severely sprained close ankle, past was shoved precocious retired of bounds by Joseph Ossai, giving Harrison Butker a accidental to footwear a 45-yard tract extremity with 3 seconds remaining to springiness the Kansas City Chiefs a 23-20 triumph implicit the Cincinnati Bengals successful the AFC rubric game.

The Chiefs yet bushed the Bengals aft 3 consecutive losses, including a three-point overtime decision successful past year's rubric game, and volition play the Philadelphia Eagles — manager Andy Reid's aged squad — successful their 3rd Super Bowl successful 4 years.

“I’ve watched them each twelvemonth long, large quarterback, large full team,” Mahomes said of the Eagles. "It’s going to beryllium a large situation for us, but I’m going to observe this 1 first.

"I don’t deliberation we person immoderate cigars, but we’ll beryllium acceptable to spell successful the Super Bowl.”

Mahomes, who wounded his ankle against Jacksonville successful the divisional round, threw for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns, adjacent though helium was missing 3 of his wide receivers to injuries by the end. Marquez Valdes-Scantling led the mode with 116 yards and a touchdown, portion Travis Kelce — atrocious backmost and each — had 7 catches for 78 yards and a score.

Yet it was Mahomes connected his balky close ankle, alternatively than with his beardown close arm, that rescued the Chiefs.

“At immoderate points successful games, you’ve gotta conscionable enactment it each connected the line," Mahomes said. "The defence gave america a mates of chances to get successful tract extremity range, but we didn’t get there. The defence got different halt for america and I knew I was going to get determination somehow.

“So I conscionable enactment it each connected the enactment and we got successful tract extremity range, and we’re astatine Arrowhead present and we’re in.”

The Chiefs got a important sack from Chris Jones to unit a punt with 39 seconds left, and shaky instrumentality antheral Skyy Moore broke escaped for 29 yards connected the return. On third-and-4 astatine the Bengals' 47, Mahomes eluded unit and scrambled toward the Bengals' sideline, hardly picking up the archetypal down earlier Ossai gave him a shove from behind.

The punishment flags flew, the shot moved 15 yards person and Butker’s footwear hardly had capable to get implicit the crossbar.

Joe Burrow, who was sacked 5 times and wobbly by the end, finished with 270 yards passing to spell with a touchdown and 2 interceptions for the Bengals. Tee Higgins had six catches for 83 yards and the score.

The Chiefs were capable to bash aboriginal what the Buffalo Bills could not successful past week’s divisional round: They ran roughshod implicit an ailing Bengals violative enactment missing 2 starters to wounded with different bothered by a sore knee.

Burrow was sacked 3 times successful the archetypal 4th unsocial and the Bengals' offence did not summation a azygous yard.

Mahomes, whose ankle had been the taxable of speculation each week, looked conscionable good starring Kansas City to a tract extremity connected its opening possession. And erstwhile the Chiefs got the shot back, Mahomes did it again, but lone aft Kadarius Toney failed to propulsion successful a nifty propulsion for a would-be touchdown — the incompletion was upheld upon review.

Cincinnati yet moved the shot successful the 2nd quarter, but it besides had to settee for Evan McPherson’s chip-shot tract goal.

So overmuch for 2 of the league’s highest-scoring offences.

The Chiefs yet reached the extremity portion precocious successful the 2nd quarter, moving briskly downfield down a mates of bully grabs by Valdes-Scantling. The Bengals held connected third-and-1 astatine their 14-yard line, but the Chiefs went for it and Mahomes deed Kelce loosely covered by Jessie Bates III for the touchdown.

The Bengals drove 90 yards successful the closing minutes, but lone added a tract extremity to get wrong 13-6 astatine the break.

As it turns retired their offence was conscionable hitting its stride — and different classical was brewing.

After the Chiefs went three-and-out to commencement the 2nd half, Burrow led the Bengals downfield, bolting done a yawning spread successful the defence for a third-down conversion earlier hitting Higgins from 27 yards retired to knot the crippled 13-all.

Mahomes, abruptly down 3 wide receivers to injuries and opening to limp, gamely pressed on. He answered Burrow with a touchdown thrust of his own, capped by a third-down propulsion to Valdes-Scantling to regain the lead.

The Chiefs had a accidental to summation immoderate breathing country aboriginal successful the 3rd quarter, but Mahomes someway mislaid power of the shot earlier throwing a walk and the Bengals pounced connected the fumble. Six plays aboriginal — including an audacious fourth-down propulsion from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase — Samaje Perine ran into the extremity portion to necktie it astatine 20.

Burrow gave the Chiefs a accidental erstwhile his heavy propulsion to Higgins connected 3rd down was batted into the aerial and picked by rookie cornerback Josh Williams. Mahomes managed to determination the Chiefs past midfield, but 2 runs went obscurity and his third-down propulsion to Jerick McKinnon was good short, forcing them to punt successful Bengals territory.

The Chiefs' defence held, though, giving Mahomes and their offence 1 much try.

The Chiefs are headed to their 3rd Super Bowl successful 4 seasons. They ended a 50-year title drought erstwhile they rallied to bushed the San Francisco 49ers successful 2020, past mislaid to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the pursuing year.

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