The Kansas City Chiefs sprinted out of the gate of the AFC Championship Game like a gazelle in the meadow. Then the Cincinnati Bengals defense found their footing and devoured Patrick Mahomes and Co.
The Chiefs scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. On their first four drives, K.C. went: 11 plays, 84 yards, six first downs, TD; seven plays, 75 yards, three TDs, TD; eight plays, 72 yards, five first downs, TD; seven plays, 80 yards, four first downs.
From there, the offense went into the tank. On its first five second-half drives, Kansas City totaled 34 yards and just two first downs with a Mahomes interception. The struggles opened the door for the Bengals to sprint back into the contest and ultimately win 27-24 in overtime.
"When you're up 21-3 in a game, you can't lose it, and I put that on myself," Mahomes said.
The final play of the first half played a significant role in the Chiefs' collapse.
Leading, 21-10, with 1:01 left, Mahomes diced up the Bengals' defense easily, moving the ball to the Cincinnati 1-yard-line. But with no timeouts and just five seconds left, Mahomes threw a pass to Tyreek Hill behind the line of scrimmage. The WR was tackled in bounds and the final seconds ticked off. Even a field goal at that stage would have been big for the Chiefs' chances of keeping the Bengals down.
"I was hoping we could get the ball in the end zone," coach Andy Reid said of the end-of-half play. "I probably gave him the wrong play first of all. To start with, I could've given him something better than that, where the play was open in the end zone, and then we wouldn't have had to go through that. I'll take responsibility for that one."
Mahomes also took the blame for the ill-advised throw.
"I was supposed to throw the ball away," the QB said. "I got a little greedy there and tried to give it to Tyreek and get a touchdown, they had two people out there. In the long run of things, it looks bad, but if we had another chance, I'd go for another play again."
The miscue seemed to derail the Chiefs' offense, which never found its footing as the Bengals secondary smothered K.C. wideouts. In the second half, K.C. generated just 83 net yards, including just 16 passing yards from Mahomes.
"There was a few misreads here and there," Mahomes said of the second-half struggles. "There was guys that were open and I didn't hit at the right time or I passed up on something shorter that I wanted to get something deeper down the field. When you're playing a good team and you don't hit what's there and you try to get a little bit more than what's necessary it kind of butts you in the bite, I guess you would say. We were playing so well in the first half and in the second half, we were just off a tick and that's all it takes to lose a football game."
The Bengals dropped eight men in coverage, forcing Mahomes to hold the ball in the pocket. With receivers unable to get open, the QB ate the ball, taking four sacks after halftime.
"They played a little bit more man on second down, but other than that, no, not really (they didn't show different looks)," Reid said of what the Bengals defense did in the second half. "Again, I can put the players in better positions to make plays, I didn't get that done."
The Bengals almost doubled their usage of dropping eight-plus defenders in coverage in the second half and overtime, per Next Gen Stats, and held the Chiefs to only three points during that span: First half: 24% of pass plays; second half/OT: 45% of pass plays. Mahomes struggled against eight-plus defenders in coverage, completing just 7 of 13 passes for 59 yards and an INT with two sacks (-14.4 pass EPA, career-low).
Reid was asked if Mahomes began pressing as the lead evaporated.
"Patrick's a great player, he was trying to make a play," the coach said. "Like I said, I've gotta do a better job at giving him things that he can make plays with. I can do a lot better in that area. I could've given him other things to work with, better things. But I could've given him better plays to work with."
In four seasons as the Chiefs' starting quarterback, Mahomes has been to four consecutive AFC Championship Games. He's won two and lost two -- both of those defeats coming in overtime. Sunday's second-half performance is sure to drive him in 2022 to get back to a fifth-straight title game.
