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Chiefs show they’re still far ahead of other Super Bowl contenders
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Chiefs show they’re still far ahead of other Super Bowl contenders

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With less than a minute left on the clock at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals had Patrick Mahomes right where they wanted him. Sure, 48 seconds can feel like an eternity for the Kansas City Chiefs star, but the problem in this case was that it came down to one decisive play.

It was fourth-and-16, with Kansas City firing from the 35-yard line.

But as the Bengals can attest, it doesn’t matter what the odds are. Mahomes was chased out of the pocket, rolled to his left. He saw Rashee Rice over the middle, planted his feet and launched a beautiful spiral that his receiver might have caught but for one small detail. The late flag came. Bengals safety Daijahn Anthony arrived a split second too early to break up the pass. The 29-yard penalty immediately put the Chiefs in field goal range.

Four plays later, Harrison Butker hit a 51-yard field goal as time expired and that was that. The Chiefs survived, 26-25. The Bengals left with another hard lesson wrapped in what-could-have-been.

The fifth straight matchup between Mahomes and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, including two AFC championship games, was decided by three points or less. According to ESPN, that hasn’t happened five times in a row involving two NFL quarterbacks since at least 1950.

They know the script all too well. One play here, one play there, that works.

“One play changed everything for us,” Ja’Marr Chase, the Bengals’ star receiver, told reporters gathered at his corner booth in a somber visitors’ locker room. “You all saw the flag on defense. So, one play.”

The Chiefs (2-0), who began their bid to become the first three-time Super Bowl champions, have certainly been living on the edge of late. Ten days after nearly blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead — and being lucky to have Isaiah Likely’s potential game-tying touchdown overturned on instant replay as time expired in the fourth quarter because his right big toe wound up on the chalk line — they were pushed to the limit by a rival trying to bounce back from an embarrassing Week 1 loss.

The lead changed five times in the second half on Sunday. Before Butker’s clutch kick and Anthony’s penalty, the “one play” might have been the 38-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery return by Charmarri Conner that allowed KC to regain the lead. Or maybe it was Conner’s 9-yard sack of Burrow on a final blitz later in the quarter that forced a point. On the other hand, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson, who made a 53-yard field goal, missed a PAT in the third quarter. And so on. One play here, one play there.

Andy Reid’s team is still undefeated, in part because their opponents haven’t rammed through the door that was left ajar. In the first two weeks of the season, the Chiefs have shown that the gap between the champions and other contenders is still quite wide. Even Reid wouldn’t deny that there’s still plenty of room for improvement—and new challenges, too, given that running back Isiah Pacheco suffered an ankle injury and left the stadium on crutches wearing a running shoe.

The Chiefs committed three turnovers against the Bengals—two Mahomes interceptions and a fumble by fullback Carson Steele—and still didn’t lose. They committed just one third-down conversion in eight attempts and still won. They were once again outgained in yardage and still couldn’t be beaten.

Of course, the big teams find a way to win when they’re not firing on all cylinders, and that usually means not beating themselves.

The Bengals almost made it. If only they were closer to perfection.

“Anytime you play a team that’s won three of the last (five) Super Bowls, it’s a challenge,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “Not everything is going to be perfect. You really have to push through some adversity. I think our guys have done a good job of that, stepping up.

“I’m disappointed that we lost the game, but that doesn’t mean I’m disappointed in our players.”

Still, the Bengals are 0-2 for the fifth time in Taylor’s six seasons at the helm. It’s a pattern that has added urgency to the early season. Burrow is now 1-9 in his career in games through the first two weeks of the season, while Taylor is 1-11.

Sure, they’ve been here before and proven they can be dangerous contenders, but this isn’t the ideal way to live on the edge.

“We have to learn from the mistakes,” Chase said.

The Bengals were fortunate to still be able to walk away with a field goal after Chase was given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for protesting a non-call with referee Alex Kemp in the fourth quarter. Kemp, in a pool report with a reporter from the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), said Chase used “insulting language” in his challenge as to why no penalty was called for what he called a hip-drop tackle.

Either way, Chase’s outburst may also have been a sign of frustration that the opportunity to irritate the Chiefs again had passed him by.

“It doesn’t feel good to lose,” Chase said.

The Bengals were no doubt encouraged that Burrow appeared to be much closer to form as the quarterback returned from wrist surgery that ended his 2023 season in Week 11. He completed 23 of 36 passes for 258 yards with two TDs and zero interceptions for a 103.7 efficiency rating.

He knows it. The Bengals could very well see the Chiefs again this season — just like in the playoffs, with a little more on the line. But he also realizes that’s a long way off.

“We’ve got a lot to do before we can talk about seeing them in the play-offs again,” he said. “A lot of football.”

That is not enough for moral victories.