Kansas City Chiefs

After the Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday's AFC Championship Game, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he gained a greater appreciation for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.

Mahomes was hoping to lead the Chiefs to a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance. After falling short, he reflected on the even-time champion Brady's sustained run of success throughout the future Hall of Famer's career.

"His career is one of a kind," Mahomes told reporters. "That's why he's the GOAT. To win that many Super Bowls and win that many games, it's hard. I understand that."

Playing in their fourth straight AFC title game, the Chiefs fell 27-24 in overtime after blowing an 18-point first-half lead. Kansas City is now 2-2 in AFC Championship Games since Mahomes became the full-time starter in 2018, also losing in overtime to the New England Patriots that year.

Mahomes threw for 275 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, one in the second half and the other in overtime. He expressed his disappointment with falling short of the team's goal of making it to Super Bowl LVI.

"It's definitely disappointing," Mahomes said. "Here, with this group of guys that we have, we expect to be in that game and win that game and anything less than that is not success."

Despite the run of four straight conference title games so early in his career, Mahomes said he's not satisfied and he wants to compete for a championship every year.

"The years that I've had, I've been close a lot," he said. "I've only been there twice and I've only won once. I understand it takes a special player, a special group of guys, special circumstances for that to happen. I'm just going to try to do whatever I can to get myself a chance every year to get in that game and to win it."

Patrick Mahomes assumed a level of responsibility after the Kansas City Chiefs threw away an 18-point lead en route to losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

"When you're up 21-3 in a game, you can't lose it, and I put that on myself," Mahomes told reporters.

Kansas City was riding high heading into halftime after Mahomes threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns through the first half. However, the Bengals successfully grounded the Chiefs' aerial attack in the second half.

Mahomes also had a pair of costly turnovers.

An interception by B.J. Hill gave Cincinnati a short field in the third quarter to set up a game-tying touchdown reception by Ja'Marr Chase and two-point conversion. In overtime, Vonn Bell's interception was the decisive moment as the Bengals got into position for Evan McPherson's game-winning field goal.

Mahomes also said he "got greedy" on the final play of the first half. He dumped the ball off to Tyreek Hill, who was unable to find the end zone as time expired. As a result, Kansas City left three points on the board.

Head coach Andy Reid owned up to his role in that sequence.

"I was hoping we could get the ball in the end zone," he told reporters. "I probably gave him the wrong play first of all. I could've given him something better than that."

Apportioning blame is inevitable after a team loses in the playoffs, and Kansas City's collapse will invite even more second-guessing. Much of the Chiefs' problems boiled down to the fact that they didn't have much of a counter when the Bengals dropped more defenders back in pass coverage in the second half.

Reid's advice to Mahomes in the AFC Divisional Round about how "when it's grim, be the Grim Reaper" is an all-time great quote, and it summed up the general sentiment about how you don't bet against the 2018 MVP in the big moment.

Sunday was a reminder of the fallibility of even historically great players.

The Kansas City Chiefs will long lament a decision at the end of the first half of Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.

With the chance to kick a field goal from the 1-yard line with five seconds remaining and take a 24-10 lead, the Chiefs instead called a swing pass to Tyreek Hill. But Hill was stopped short of the goal line, ending the half without netting Kansas City any points, and head coach Andy Reid acknowledged it wasn't a great call after the game. 

"I probably gave [Mahomes] the wrong play," he told reporters. 

"I could have given him something better than that, where the play was open in the end zone," Reid added. "And then we wouldn't have had to go through that. I'll take responsibility for that one."

Reid believed the Chiefs could have gotten one more play in, even with only five seconds remaining:

Had Mahomes taken a quick shot to the end zone, they may have had a chance to squeeze one more play out of the drive, in which case they might have settled for the field goal. But Mahomes' decision to go with the swing pass eliminated that possibility. 

Granted, it wasn't the only opportunity the Chiefs blew in the game. On the last drive in regulation, Kansas City had a 1st-and-goal on the 5-yard-line with 1:30 remaining. But a one-yard run and two straight sacks pushed the Chiefs back to 26-yard-line and eliminated the chance for a game-winning touchdown. 

Harrison Butker's field goal sent the game to overtime, and the Chiefs won the toss. But a Mahomes interception on the third play of that drive gave the ball back to Cincinnati, and Joe Burrow promptly drove the Bengals into position for the game-deciding field goal. 

Those moments were the difference between the Chiefs going to their third straight Super Bowl and losing their second AFC Championship Game in the past four years. The duo of Reid and Mahomes has led the Chiefs to great heights, but on Sunday, a few questionable decisions cut Kansas City's title aspirations short.

Joe Burrow is now one win away from sainthood in Ohio.

The Cincinnati Bengals star led his team to a 27-24 overtime upset of the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Cincinnati is the AFC champion for the third time in franchise history and denied the Chiefs what would've been their third straight conference crown.

The Chiefs got the ball to open overtime, but a Vonn Bell interception of a Patrick Mahomes pass turned the tables. Cincinnati marched down the field to set up a 31-yard game-winning field goal by Evan McPherson.

Mahomes was electric in the first half, going 18-of-21 for 220 yards and three touchdowns, and the Chiefs were rolling. The Bengals exploded into life in the third quarter, turning what was shaping up to be a blowout into a dramatic affair.

A 52-yard field goal by McPherson put the Bengals ahead 24-21 with 6:07 left in the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs narrowly averted a disaster in the final seconds as Sam Hubbard sacked Mahomes and forced a fumble that was recovered by Joe Thuney. That allowed Harrison Butker to hit a game-tying 44-yard field goal to end regulation.

Notable Performers

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs: 26-of-39, 275 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions; three carries, 19 yards

Tyreek Hill, WR, Chiefs: seven receptions, 78 yards, one touchdown

Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs: 10 receptions, 95 yards, one touchdown

Joe Burrow, QB, Bengals: 23-of-38, 250 yards, two touchdowns, one interception

Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals: 21 carries, 88 yards; three receptions, 27 yards

Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Bengals: six receptions, 54 yards, one touchdown

These Aren't Your Parents' Cincinnati Bengals

The Chiefs were poised to effectively put away the Bengals for good when they had a 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line with nine seconds left in the second quarter. Instead, Eli Apple tackled Tyreek Hill short of the goal line as time expired.

That call might haunt Chiefs head coach Andy Reid for a long time.

After forcing Kansas City to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter, Cincinnati was suddenly in a position to make the home fans a little uneasy and trim its deficit to one score. That was quite the contrast to the dire state of affairs for the AFC North champions earlier in the contest.

But a Burrow pass to Tee Higgins on third down fell incomplete, so the Bengals had to give the ball back to the Chiefs with nothing to show for it. Another trip into the red zone yielded just three points as McPherson made it a 21-13 game.

The third time was the charm after an interception by B.J. Hill set Cincinnati up at the KC 27-yard line. Burrow hit Ja'Marr Chase for a two-yard touchdown before successfully converting the two-point attempt to tie the score.

It's rare that a draft pick can immediately alter a franchise's trajectory within a few seasons in the way Burrow has. The confidence he exudes is infectious for the rest of the team.

Even when the Bengals were down 18 points, nobody was counting them out for good. No longer is this a franchise that shrinks when the lights turn the brightest in the playoffs, and it all starts with Burrow.

A Tale of 2 Halves for Kansas City

With almost three minutes off the clock in the second quarter, it was abundantly clear the Bengals were in big trouble. That's when Mahomes did this to help give the Chiefs a 14-3 lead:

How are you supposed to defend that?

Sunday's game didn't teach fans anything new about Mahomes, but it will never not be exhilarating to watch him do something no other quarterback in the league can pull off. His performance also highlighted the folly of all that early season handwringing about the Chiefs, which appeared to be justified at the time.

Things tightened up in the second half thanks in part to some liberal application of the rules by the officiating crew.

Kansas City also struggled to adapt to how Cincinnati changed its defensive approach. The Bengals began dropping their safeties deeper, which meant Mahomes was struggling to find an open receiver when he got flushed from the pocket.

The Chiefs' Jekyll and Hyde performance was jarring for a franchise that is so battle-tested in the playoffs. They scored three points in the second half of an elimination game after finding the end zone almost at will in the first 30 minutes.

Reid and his staff will be left with a lot of questions about how things unraveled so badly.

What's Next?

The Bengals can begin making plans for Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13 and await the winner of the NFC Championship Game between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers to learn of their opponent. If the Niners pull through, then San Francisco and Cincinnati would face off in the Super Bowl for the third time.

The Kansas City Chiefs will have Tyrann Mathieu in the lineup for the AFC Championship Game.

Kansas City confirmed Sunday it had removed the injury designation from Mathieu, adding he will play against the Cincinnati Bengals after suffering a concussion in the AFC Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills.

He only logged seven snaps before exiting Kansas City's dramatic 42-36 overtime victory over the Bills.

Josh Allen might have torched the Chiefs secondary anyway, even if it had a healthy Mathieu available. Still, it's probably not entirely a coincidence he threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns and led the Bills offense on two late scoring drives inside the final two minutes.

Mathieu earned his third trip to the Pro Bowl after finishing the regular season with 76 tackles, three interceptions and six pass breakups.

The 29-year-old is even more valuable to the team given the general vulnerability of Kansas City's defense. The unit allowed the sixth-most yards per game (251.4) through the air and ranked 24th in yards per attempt (7.3) during the regular season.

The Bills might have been the Chiefs' toughest test before the Super Bowl, but they can't afford to look past Cincinnati. Joe Burrow has acquitted himself nicely in the postseason, throwing for 592 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Bengals' two wins.

Burrow got sacked nine times in the divisional round yet still showed a level of poise belying his relative inexperience. Going up against Patrick Mahomes and Co., a team Cincinnati beat in the regular season, probably won't faze him.

In the Bengals' 34-31 Week 17 win over the Chiefs, Burrow threw for 446 yards and four touchdowns. Mathieu played all 70 defensive snaps in that game, so his presence then did little to slow down the second-year signal-caller.

Still, with the benefit of a healthy Mathieu, the reigning AFC champions might have better luck keeping their opponent's aerial attack in check in the conference title game than they had in the previous round.

The NFL fined Kansas City Chiefs star Tyreek Hill $10,300 for taunting Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano in the AFC Divisional Round.

Hill gave Milano the peace sign as he was approaching the goal line to give the Chiefs the lead late in the fourth quarter of Kansas City's 42-36 overtime victory.

The six-time Pro Bowler avoided a taunting penalty, a point which Bills head coach Sean McDermott declined to wade into.

"You're very observant, but I'm not going to go any further," he told reporters when asked about the play by NFL Network's Kim Jones.

It's a bit ironic because Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson reported Hill had a disproportionate influence on the new taunting rules. His "pre-touchdown celebrations allegedly tweaked more than one member of the rule-emphasizing establishment last season," per Robinson.

While the Bills might have felt slighted by the non-penalty, it would've been moot if they could've protected a three-point lead with 13 seconds on the clock.

This is the second time the NFL has fined Hill this postseason. He was docked $12,875 for grabbing a pair of pompoms from a Chiefs cheerleader to celebrate a touchdown reception against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 27-year-old used the fine as inspiration to drive donations toward his charitable foundation.

Given how much money he has forfeited over the last two weeks, Hill might want to be on his best behavior in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

The Kansas City Chiefs reportedly released cornerback Damon Arnette after he was arrested Friday night in Las Vegas for allegedly threatening a parking valet with a gun.

TMZ Sports reported Saturday that Arnette was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a controlled substance following the incident at the Park MGM hotel.

The Chiefs "immediately released" the defensive back after receiving word of his arrest, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network.

Arnette signed a reserve/futures contract with Kansas City on Jan. 20.

The 25-year-old Ohio State product was a first-round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2020 draft. He made 13 appearances for the organization before getting released in November after a video was posted showing him making death threats while holding a gun.

He's also facing multiple lawsuits, including one related to a similar altercation with a parking valet at the Aria Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, per Kevin Patra of NFL.com.

A witness to Friday's alleged assault told TMZ that Arnette tried to retrieve his vehicle from the valet lot without a ticket. When approached by the attendant, he pulled out a gun and police were called.

When Arnette was released by the Raiders, then-Las Vegas general manager Mike Mayock said there was "significant concern" about the cornerback's character before the draft but they hoped to help him in that regard.

"At the time, we thought it was an acceptable risk ... after doing more homework on Arnette than anybody we've done in the years I've been here. And obviously, we missed, and that is 100 percent on me," Mayock told reporters.

Arnette joined the Miami Dolphins' practice squad in December. That contract ran out with the conclusion of the regular season, but he signed a futures deal with the organization that would've kept him with the Chiefs heading into the offseason.

The Chiefs are scheduled to face the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

Even though Patrick Mahomes always seems to play calm under pressure, the Kansas City Chiefs superstar has adrenaline spikes just like everyone watching games. 

Mahomes' trainer, Bobby Stroupe, shared the quarterback's heart readings from Sunday's thrilling 42-36 overtime victory over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC divisional round:

There were certainly more ebbs and flows from Mahomes' heart rate than over the course of the entire game, but the win-probability chart from the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime looks a lot like the readings shared by Stroupe. 

The Bills-Chiefs game capped off one of the most exciting weekends of NFL football ever. The four playoff games were decided by a combined total of 15 points, with the winner being determined on the final play of each game. 

Buffalo and Kansas City combined for 34 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Three touchdowns were scored in the span of 1 minute, 41 seconds starting with 1:54 remaining in the fourth quarter when Gabriel Davis caught a 27-yard score on 4th-and-13. 

Mahomes led the Chiefs on a three-play, 44-yard drive with 13 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 36. He hit Travis Kelce in the end zone from eight yards out for the game-winner in overtime to send Kansas City to the AFC Championship Game for the fourth straight year.