NFL: Chiefs back to Super Bowl after sinking Bengals

MIAMI -- Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are heading to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 with a field goal three seconds from the end of the AFC Championship game on Sunday.

Harrison Butker converted the 45-yard game winner, after a costly penalty against the Bengals, to grab the victory after Cincinnati -- who had won their last ten games -- had threatened another comeback win.

The Chiefs, who had lost their last three meetings with Cincinnati including last year's AFC title game, will now meet the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in Arizona on February 12.

Mahomes came into the game still nursing an ankle injury picked up in last week’s divisional round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, while his favored target, tight-end Travis Kelce, had been dealing with a back injury picked up at practice on Friday.

While the quarterback was less mobile than usual and ended the game limping at times, he was able to deliver the key plays down the stretch and ensure Chiefs coach Andy Reid gets a meeting with his former team Philadelphia in the NFL's championship showpiece.

It was a trademark Mahomes scramble, albeit on a damaged ankle, that led to the decisive field goal as the quarterback, who threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, put pain aside for victory.

“At some points in games, you've got to just put it all on the line," Mahomes said.

"The defense gave us a couple chances to get in field goal range, we didn't get there. The defense got another stop for us and I knew I was going to get there somehow," he added.

After a Kansas City field goal opened the scoring, it was the Chiefs defense that made the first big impact on the game with three successive sacks of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

The Chiefs thought they had a touchdown early in the second quarter, but Isiah Pacheco's nine yard rush was ruled out for holding and the resulting ten yard penalty led to the Chiefs' having to settle for another field goal.

After a Bengals field goal, the Chiefs produced a touchdown from the familiar connection between Mahomes and Kelce, with the quarterback rolling right and finding his tight end with a 14 yard pass.

The Bengals pushed into the red zone with an impressive drive at the end of the half, but the Chiefs defense held firm and forced another field goal, sending Kansas City in at the break with a 13-6 lead.

- Bengals keep it close -

The Cincinnati offense sprung into life after the interval and tied up the score when Burrow went deep with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling then kept a Chiefs drive alive with a smart reach-out for a first down and the receiver finished off the 11-play, 77-yard drive, collecting a 19 yard pass down the middle from Mahomes.

But again the Bengals struck back.

Mahomes let the ball slip out of his hand while in his throwing motion and Sam Hubbard recovered the ball for the turnover. On the resulting possession, Burrow led the Bengals down the field on a drive that featured a super 35-yard pass to Ja'marr Chase and Samaje Perine rushed up the middle for a two-yard touchdown to make it 20-20.

The Chiefs got the ball for the final time with 30 seconds left and with the pressure on, at third and four, Mahomes used his legs to make first down but after he ran out of bounds he was barged to the ground by Joseph Ossai.

The resulting 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness took the Chiefs within field goal distance and Butker did the rest.

Agence France-Presse

NFL: Niners upset Packers on walk-off field goal, Bengals topple Titans

LOS ANGELES -- Robbie Gould kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired and the San Francisco 49ers rallied for a stunning 13-10 victory over the top-seeded Green Bay Packers on Saturday to punch their ticket to the NFC Championship game.

The underdog 49ers avenged a similar loss to the Packers earlier in the season when Green Bay beat them 30-28 on a walk-off 51-yard field goal. 

This one took place on a frosty Lambeau Field in Green Bay with snow falling steadily as temperatures dipped to -12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Dangerous man. When a team gets hot it is dangerous. We got to keep this thing going," said quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo of San Francisco, who advance to their fifth NFC championship game in the last 11 years.

In the early NFL game, the Cincinnati Bengals busted another playoff drought as rookie Evan McPherson kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired for a 19-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

The 49ers will play either the Los Angeles Rams or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a spot in the Super Bowl.

Garoppolo completed 11 of 19 passes for 131 yards and one interception but it was the 49ers' defense that made the clutch plays on Saturday.

With under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Talanoa Hufanga recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown as San Francisco tied the game 10-10.

Gould is now a perfect 20-of-20 lifetime on kicks in the playoffs.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who threw 20-of-29 passes for 225 yards, was trying to reach the NFC title game for the sixth time in his tenure with the Packers. 

Rodgers has won just one Super Bowl during his famed run in Green Bay and his future with the franchise remains uncertain. 

He was unable to take advantage of this chance with the Packers coming off a bye and possessing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

"I'm gonna take some time and have conversations with the folks around here, and then take some time away and make a decision -- obviously before free agency," Rodgers said Saturday.

"Certainly we want him back here. I think we'd be crazy not to want him back here," said Packers coach Matt LaFleur.

The 49ers continue to be a stumbling block for the Packers when it comes to playoff elimination games. San Francisco crushed Green Bay 37-20 in the 2019 NFC title game when Raheem Mostert rushed for 220 yards. 

Elsewhere, the Bengals triumph over the top-seeded Titans in Nashville put the Bengals into their first AFC championship game in 33 years -- and gave Cincinnati a first postseason road victory after seven defeats.

"Very intense," Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said of the game in which Cincinnati intercepted Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill three times.

With 20 seconds remaining and the score tied at 16-16, Luke Wilson picked off Tannehill at the Cincinnati 47 yard line. Burrow connected with rookie receiver Ja'Marr Chase with a 19-yard pass and the Bengals ran the ball twice to set the stage for McPherson's game-winner.

"Ice in his veins," Burrow said of the rookie kicker, who had two field goals of more than 50 yards.

Although they led most of the way, the Bengals didn't have it easy. Burrow was sacked a playoff record-equalling nine times.

Cincinnati scored their first touchdown in their opening drive of the third quarter, taking a 16-6 lead on Joe Mixon's 16-yard run to the end zone.

Tennessee then threatened, moving to the Cincinnati nine-yard line before cornerback Mike Hilton picked off Tannehill.

"We found a way," said Burrow, who threw for 348 yards. 

"Man it was a crazy, crazy game. That's a really, really good team, unbelievable defensive line."

Burrow said the Bengals -- whose first-round win was their first playoff victory in 31 years -- would take a night to savor the victory, then start preparing for their next opponent.

They'll face the winner of Sunday's AFC Divisional Round game between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs.

Agence France-Presse

Broncos seal playoff berth with OT win over Bengals

DENVER — Denver clinched a place in the NFL playoffs with a 20-17 overtime win against Cincinnati on Monday, with DeMarcus Ware beating Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron to a fumbled snap to seal the victory.

The Broncos (11-4) overcame a 14-0 first-half deficit and clinched a fifth consecutive playoff berth, while Cincinnati (11-4) blew a chance to earn a bye in the playoffs.

Denver can earn the top seed in the AFC with a win over San Diego and a loss by New England at Miami in next weekend’s finale of the regular season.

Denver was in danger of becoming the first team since the 1970 football merger to miss the playoffs after starting a season 10-2.

Broncos fans would have feared the worst after kicker Brandon McManus shanked a 45-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation time, sending the game to overtime.

Denver won the toss and elected to receive in overtime. They drove 60 yards in 13 plays, led by quarterback Brock Osweiler, who was making his sixth straight start in place of the injured Peyton Manning.

McManus then redeemed himself by splitting the uprights from 37 yards out 5 minutes into the extra period.

Cincinnati had a chance to respond, but on second-and-10 from the Bengals 33-yard line, center Russell Bodine’s shotgun snap sailed past McCarron and Ware beat him to the loose football.

source: sports.inquirer.net