Chiefs come back to beat Bengals at home; secure 8th straight division title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs turned around a 17-7 deficit to the Cincinnati Bengals with mostly field goals to get a crucial 25-17 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
With this win, the Chiefs have clinched their eighth straight AFC West title and a spot in the 2023 NFL Playoffs currently as the three seed in the AFC at 10-6.
It was also KC’s first home win since October.
The Bengals notched a field goal at the end of their opening nine-minute drive and the Chiefs answered with a seven-play drive that ended with a touchdown to running back Isiah Pacheco.
The lead didn’t last long when Bengals running back Joe Mixon caught a seven-yard touchdown pass to take a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.
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A Trey Hendrickson strip-sack of Patrick Mahomes helped the Bengals get great field position and they increased their lead to 17-7 with a TD run from quarterback Jake Browning.
The Chiefs ended the half with two straight field goals to cut lead to 17-13 halftime. The last offensive play resulted in a wide-open drop from receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on fourth down.
After a defensive stop in the red zone early in the third quarter, the Chiefs drove the field 82 yards and ended with a Harrison Butker field goal to cut their deficit to 17-16.
The Chiefs connected on their longest pass play of the year with a 67-yard catch-and-run reception from Rashee Rice that got them into the red zone at the end of the third quarter and they ended the drive with their third straight field goal that helped them take a 19-17 lead early in the fourth quarter after a Butker 24-yard field goal.
The rookie receiver led the receiving effort with 127 yards on five catches.
Butker finished the night going 6-6 on field goals, a career high.
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The defense ended the night with six sacks, with two coming from safety Justin Reid and 1.5 from DE George Karlaftis who eclipsed 10 sacks for the first time in his career.
Mahomes finished with 245 yards and a touchdown.
Pacheco tallied 130 rushing yards on 18 carries, 35 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.
With Pacheco and Rice both over 100 yards for the game, it marks the first game with a 100-yard rusher and a 100-yard receiver for the Chiefs since Pacheco (107) and Kelce (115) each reached the mark on Nov. 20, 2022, at the Los Angeles Chargers.
Tight end Travis Kelce garnered 16 yards on three catches.
The Chiefs go to the Chargers for their regular season finale at a time to be determined.
