Sunday night, the Chiefs and the Bengals faced off in the AFC Championship game. This matchup was highly anticipated in a rematch from the 2022 AFC Championship game. It was a controversial outcome. Nevertheless, the Chiefs are Super Bowl bound.
First Half Recap
A big question in this game was how healthy Patrick Mahomes would be. Mahomes injured his ankle in the Divisional Round against the Jaguars. It was apparent how bad the injury was when watching him limp around the field. One aspect of his game that makes him so electric is his mobility.
In the first quarter, Mahomes was on fire. He found his key players and could even show his mobility when needed. The Chiefs could only put up three points from a field goal in the opening quarter, but the offense didn’t seem like they were far off from putting it in the end zone.
On the other side, the Bengals were not backing down. Every Bengals offensive play in Arrowhead Stadium was loud. In 2014, Arrowhead Stadium set a Guinness World Record for its stadium noise; the noise is still a significant factor in every home game for the Chiefs.
The Bengals didn’t have much of an answer to put up points. They ended the half with only six points on two field goals in the second quarter by Evan McPherson.
Kansas City had a comfortable seven-point lead going into the half and would receive the second half’s opening kick.
Second Half Recap
The beginning of the second half didn’t go to plan for the Chiefs. They were held to minimal gains and, eventually, a punt. When the Bengals got the ball, they were able to keep moving down the field. It was kept alive by a big third down quarterback draw when Joe Burrow ran for the first down and extended the drive. Cincinnati was in attack mode down on their first opportunity in the second half to score off a passing touchdown to Tee Higgins. This tied up the game at 13 points.
It wasn’t too much longer before Patrick Mahomes and the offense was able to bounce back with a touchdown of their own. A great effort by Marquez Valdes-Scantling saved the drive as he reached out to get the first down. The play had to be challenged to be reversed in the Chiefs’ favor.
Patrick Mahomes then passed to Valdes-Scantling for a 19-yard touchdown to go ahead by seven points.
On a big drive, Mahomes fumbled the ball and gave the Bengals a huge opportunity to come back. Burrow connected to Ja’Marr Chase for a 35-yard completion on a crucial fourth down. This set up a game-tying touchdown by Samaje Perine at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
On the final drive for the Bengals, the offensive line couldn’t give Burrow enough time to make plays. The Bengals were forced to give the ball over to the Chiefs with 30 seconds left on the clock.
A long punt return helped the offense with a good starting position. With no timeouts left, Patrick Mahomes rushed for a first down, then shoved by Joseph Ossai as he stepped out of bounds. This gave the Chiefs another 15 yards and put them in field goal position. Harrison Butker kicked the 45-yard field goal to win the game.
Officiating On The Hot Seat
Most of the time, when we hear fanbases complaining about officiating, the response is that there was plenty of opportunity. The players play the game and need to give a performance that a few bad calls can’t change. This is true, but the officiating happened at crucial moments in the game that changed much more than it should in a game of this magnitude.
Plenty of NFL fans took to Twitter to show their frustrations with the NFL and this officiating crew. Patriots beat writer Chris Mason sided with Zac Taylor in his frustrations with the officiating.
Zac Taylor has every right to lose his mind.
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) January 30, 2023
Pro Football Talk chimed in, simply stating that the NFC Championship game was RIGGED.
RIGGED
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 30, 2023
Even big names like Matt Miller, Pat McAfee and popular streamer and entertainer timthetatman seemed to take some issue with this officiating crew.
We don’t expect officials to be perfect. Just competent.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 30, 2023
These refs today.. pic.twitter.com/IJBOHIIlGU
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 30, 2023
nah bro chiefs are paying these refs????
— timthetatman???? (@timthetatman) January 30, 2023
The frustration is understandable from NFL fans. When we watch games like this as fans, we expect to see a fair game. NFL fans can speculate about the officiating, and rightfully so. Regardless, the Chiefs are Super Bowl bound.
Watch or listen to Rising To The Occasion on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform to join me and my cohosts talk sports. I am also on Twitter, where you can find most of my updates and articles. Check out more Belly Up Sports articles to see what we can do here!
