The Cincinnati Bengals are Super Bowl bound.
Led by young quarterback Joe Burrow, the Bengals erased a 21-3 first half deficit to stun the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-24, in overtime to win the AFC Championship Game on Sunday Night.
Rookie kicker Evan McPherson drilled a 31-yard field goal with 9:22 left in overtime to complete the Cincinnati comeback. The Bengals will now head to the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
Hosting the AFC Championship Game for the fourth consecutive year, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs jumped out to a 21-3 lead before the Bengals mounted their second half comeback. The 18-point deficit matched the largest comeback in an AFC Championship Game in NFL history.
Trailing 21-24, the Chiefs tied the game on Harrison Butker’s 44-yard field goal at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.
Last Sunday, the Chiefs rallied to beat the Bills 42-36 in overtime, but no team in NFL postseason history has ever won back-to-back games in overtime.
Similarly to last week, Kansas City got the ball first, needing a touchdown to win the game. Instead, Mahomes was intercepted and the Bengals marched down the field for the game-winning field goal.
Burrow threw for 250 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the victory.
The Bengals defense stymied Mahomes in the second half, holding the former MVP to 275 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Chiefs will now have all offseason to lament blowing an 18-point lead, and with it, their chance at going to a third straight Super Bow.
The Bengals will now head to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1989. In that Super Bowl XXIII, they played the San Francisco 49ers and lost 20-16 on Joe Montana’s famous final drive that sealed the victory.
Cincinnati has never won the Super Bowl, but have now booked their ticket to Los Angeles where they will await the winner of the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, February 13, 2022.
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