The Kansas City Chiefs finally got Joe Burrow off their back, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday night to advance to Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Burrow and the Bengals had beaten the juggernaut Chiefs three times in a row, most notably in last year’s AFC Championship.
Harrison Butker’s 45-yard game-winning kick sends the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes on their way to another Super Bowl.
Mahomes, who was in obvious distress at times during the game as he fought through a high-ankle sprain sustained just last week in Kansas City’s Divisional matchup, ran the Chiefs’ offence efficiently despite injuries to some of his top weapons, finishing 30-for-44 for 332 yards and two touchdowns.
The game started with a spate of field goals before Travis Kelce caught a dart from Mahomes towards the end of the second quarter to make it 13-3 for the Chiefs. That catch tied Kelce with Rob Gronkowski for the second-most playoff touchdown receptions of all time with 15.
Burrow managed to drive the Bengals all the way back down the field before the end of the half, setting up an Evan McPherson field goal to make it 13-6.
Tee Higgins and Marquez Valdez-Scantling traded receiving touchdowns in the third, before a two-yard plunge by Cincinnati’s Samaje Perine at the top of the fourth quarter evened the score at 20-20.
After stopping a promising Bengals drive, Kansas City punt returner Skyy Moore took a punt back 29 yards to the Chiefs’ 47. On 3rd-and-4 with :17 left, Mahomes made his first run of the day, sprinting to the first down marker in desperation.
He made it and was out-of-bounds when the Bengals’ Joseph Ossai tackled him, resulting in a personal foul that put the Chiefs in field goal range. Butker made no mistake, drilling it right down the middle from 45 yards out to win the game.
