CINCINNATI — The Bengals beat the Chiefs 27-24 in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium in January.
Patrick Mahomes is still thinking about the loss.
“That second half I played, I didn’t play really good football at all. Probably my worst playoff football I’ve played was the second half of the game,” Mahomes said. “I’m just trying to use that as a learning thing that whenever I’m struggling or a team’s struggling, just find a way to get positive plays, because when you have a lead like that, you don’t want to lose that lead. We played such a great first half, even if we weren’t getting what we wanted in the second half, I have to get better at taking what’s there to try to get some points on the board.”
The Bengals rallied from a 21-3 deficit and held the Chiefs to just three points in the second half.
Mahomes wasn’t the only one to reflect on the loss. Chris Jones also has some regrets.
“I missed some of the biggest plays of the game,” Jones told Nate Taylor of The Athletic. “You use that as motivation the whole offseason. I felt like if I would’ve made those sacks, the game would’ve been different. I take accountability for that. For me, that’s my driving force right now.”
Joe Burrow ran for four first downs, including two in the fourth quarter that helped the Bengals extend drives. He escaped Jones’ grip on what would’ve been a sack.
It was arguably Burrow‘s best performance of the season. The Bengals’ offensive line couldn’t stop Jones and company, but the star quarterback continued to make plays—especially in the second half.
