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Cincinnati Bengals Defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in AFC Championship Game
Introduction
On Sunday, January 30th, 2022 the Cincinnati Bengals headed into the hostile atmosphere of Arrowhead Stadium to play the heavily favored home team of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2022 AFC Championship Game.
The Kansas City Chiefs got off to a blazing hot start in the 1st – half of the contest as the Kansas City Chiefs led 21 to 10 at halftime, but the Cincinnati Bengals fought hard to come back and ultimately won the highly - contested match up with a final score of 27 to 24 in overtime.
Super Bowl LVI
The Cincinnati Bengals are now heading to Super Bowl LVI, and this is their first trip to a Super Bowl in 33 - years. This will be the 3rd Super Bowl appearance for the Cincinnati Bengals when they play the Los Angeles Rams on the Rams home field of So Fi Stadium located in Inglewood, California.
This year’s Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 13th, 2022 at 6:30 p. m. EST, and the big game will be nationally broadcasted on NBC. Currently the opening line for Super Bowl LVI is the Los Angeles Rams at – 3.5, and the over / under has been initially set at 50 points.
AFC Championship Game – Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
- The speedy wide receiver of the Kansas City Chiefs, Tyreek Hill, caught a 10 – yard touchdown pass from his quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Chiefs 7 – Bengals 0.
- The Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson kicked a 32 – yard field goal. Chiefs 7 – Bengals 3.
2nd Quarter
- Tight end Travis Kelce caught a 5 – yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to put the Kansas City Chiefs back on the board. Chiefs 14 – Bengals 3.
- Wide receiver Mecole Hardman pulled in a 3 – yard touchdown pass from Mahomes as the Kansas City Chiefs extended their lead. Chiefs 21 – Bengals 3.
- The Cincinnati Bengals scored their first touchdown of the game when Samaje Perine caught a 41 – yard pass from his quarterback Joe Burrow. Chiefs 21 – Bengals 10.
3rd Quarter
- McPherson kicks a 31 – yard field goal. Chiefs 21 – Bengals 13.
- The Cincinnati Bengals explosive wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, caught a 2 – yard touchdown pass from Burrow. 2 – point conversion successfully completed by Cincinnati on a Burrow pass to Trent Taylor. Chiefs 21 – Bengals 21.
4th Quarter
- McPherson kicks a 52 – yard field goal. Bengals 24 – Chiefs 21.
- The Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker kicked a 44 – yard field goal to send the AFC Championship Game into overtime. Chiefs 24 – Bengals 24.
Overtime
- McPherson kicks the game – winning field goal to send the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl. Bengals 27 – Chiefs 24.
Media Statements
"It's a special team that's capable of doing special things," the Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor explained. “We’ve said that from the get - go, whether people believed us or not. We believed. So, we're not surprised."
"I'd say nobody blinked an eye," the Cincinnati Bengals rookie kicker Evan McPherson proclaimed. "I think we all thought we were going to come back and win the game."
"Usually when you lose the coin flip to those guys, you're going home," the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow expressed. "Our defense really stepped up and made plays in the second half. And on offense we made plays when we had to. I thought the offensive line played really well all day. We started running the ball there at the end and that's exciting. Big win for us."
"I wouldn't call it surreal; I would say it's exciting," Burrow goes on to say. "I think if you would have told me before the season that we'd be going to the Super Bowl, I probably would have called you crazy. Then, you know, we play the whole season and nothing surprises me now."
Sources:
“Bengals top Chiefs 27 - 24 in OT to clinch Super Bowl trip”, espn.com, January 30, 2022.
“Super Bowl LVI preview: Rams - Bengals predictions, picks, odds, big questions, stats to know, key matchups, more”, espn.com, January 31, 2022.