Kansas City, Mo. (AP) — Harrison Budger makes the wind spin inside Arrowhead Stadium as he walks alone to midfield after each quarter Sunday. He did one last time during the 2-minute warning, his Chiefs trailing the Bengals by two and giving him a successful field-goal attempt.
When Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the offense did exactly that, helped by a pass interference call on Cincinnati safety Daijahn Anthony on fourth down in the final minute, Budger headed down the field again.
Sometimes he misses. They weren’t expecting him this time.
With an early composure, Budger drilled a 51-yarder as time expired to give Kansas City a 26-25 win.
“I try to block it out,” Patkar said of the crowd noise. “It’s hard not to feed off of that, but I try to stop it. What I don’t like is when you walk onto the field and everybody’s clapping and you’re like, ‘The game’s not over yet. I still have to make this kick.’
Patrick Mahomes threw for 151 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, but his incomplete pass to Rushie Rice on fourth-and-16 from the Kansas City 35 proved decisive. Anthony arrived a second early and moved Rice from behind with his body, and the flags flew with 38 seconds left to keep the leaders alive.
The penalty came after Kansas City had a long gain on fourth down.
A pass interference call moved the Chiefs to the Cincinnati 36, and they ran two more plays to bleed the clock for big Cal Budger, who turned and started walking off the field before the kick was even upright.
“You know, it’s one of those plays that we can benefit from at some point this season. That’s what I told the guys,” Bengals coach Zach Taylor said of the pass interference call. “They call it like they see it. I thought they were very fair game and they saw it as a punishment. So they called a penalty.
Joe Burrow threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns to Andre Iosivas as the Bengals (0-2) came up empty against one of their biggest foes for the third straight time. It lost to Kansas City in the AFC Championship game.
Samarri Conner returned a fumble 37 yards.
It was the second time Kansas City had decided in the Finals after beating Baltimore 27-20 on opening night.
“The two best football games we’ve played the last two weeks are the teams we played in the AFC Championship Game,” Mahomes said. “We’re going to clean up the mistakes, especially on offense. And that starts with me. We’re going to be a better team for it.
The Chiefs struggled in their first game with Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely, who had nine catches for 111 yards and a score. And with Bengals wide receiver Dee Higgins out with a sore hamstring, Burrow leaned heavily on his own tight ends — Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki and rookie Eric All Jr. — to move an offense that never quite got going last weekend against New England.
Sample and Gesicki were responsible for much of the opening drive that produced a field goal. Minutes later, after Mahomes was picked off by Akeem Davis-Gaither, Als’ catch helped set up Iosivas’ touchdown reception.
Mahomes eventually atoned for the interception when Cam found Rice over Taylor-Britt’s outstretched fingers for a 44-yard touchdown pass. But otherwise, Andy Reid’s strong performance stalled in the middle and trailed 16-10 at the half.
That and the hijinks had just begun.
The Chiefs went ahead early in the second half when Mahomes caught a pass from his 310-pound tackle-worthy Morris for a touchdown. Burrow responded on fourth-and-goal when he connected with Iosivas for the second time, only to see Burrow stripped moments later and Conner scamper 37 yards for another touchdown.
Evan McPherson’s fourth field goal gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead with 5:12 left and their defense gave the ball back. But the Chiefs gave Mahomes and Co. a chance to decide the game with 2:59 left.
unsportsmanlike conduct
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Mar Chase was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in the fourth quarter. On second-and-11 Chase was stopped at the first-down marker and was upset that a flag wasn’t thrown for a hip-drop tackle. He landed directly in the face of referee Alex Kemp, who threw the flag. That forced a third-and-22 at the Chiefs’ 45, and after Gesicki recovered 10 yards, McPherson kicked a field goal that gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead.
“It’s very clear. It’s just plain bad language for a sports official,” Kemp said. “I’m not going to repeat to you what he said, but the language he used had no explanation. Just abusive language.”
Chase declined to discuss the penalty in the game locker room, saying only that “it doesn’t feel like a big loss.”
“It’s OK to be emotional,” Taylor said. “I can’t see everything that was said or done, so I better not comment on that.”
Injuries
Bengals: TD PJ Hill (hamstring) left in the second quarter. TD Sheldon Rankins (hamstring) left in the fourth.
Leaders: R.P. Isiah Pacheco came off in the final minute and was seen walking off the field on crutches at the start. Reid did not provide any details other than to say he will undergo tests on Monday.
next
Cincinnati returns home to play at Washington on Sept. 23.
Kansas City travels to Atlanta on Sunday night.
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