Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were hoping the old saying that the third time’s the charm would prove to be in their favor.
But a fumble and a missed field goal in the fourth quarter were too much to overcome, and the Chiefs fell 27-24 to the Bengals on Sunday in Cincinnati. The loss marked the third consecutive game the Joe Burrow-led Bengals defeated the Chiefs — twice now in the regular season and once in last year’s AFC championship game.
“We started off slow, got back in the game and into the flow of things, and we had a turnover late and the missed kick,” Mahomes said. “In the fourth quarter, those are the things that kind of bite you in the end.”
On the Chiefs’ last possession, Mahomes drove the team to the Cincinnati 33. Facing a third-and-3, Mahomes dropped back to pass but was rushed and stepped up in the pocket. But he was sacked by the Bengals’ defensive end Joseph Ossai, setting up a 55-yard field goal by Harrison Butker.
The kick, however, sailed wide right and Mahomes never got the ball back. After the sack, Mahomes got up with a noticeable limp. However, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said that had no bearing on the decision to try for a game-tying field goal instead of going for it on fourth down. Reid had confidence Butker could make it but said the game shouldn’t have come down to that.
“But it did,” Reid said. “And so, we got to make sure we do it. If we’re going to be a good football team, all phases have to take care of business.”
With the Chiefs (9-3) leading 24-20 early in the fourth quarter, Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce, but the tight end fumbled the ball as he was trying to gain a few more yards. The Bengals recovered and marched down the field for the game-winning touchdown.
“I’m taking Travis fighting for extra yards every single time,” Mahomes said. “That’s the type of competitor he is. We trust in him. He’s a competitor. He’s the reason we’re playing these big games like this and so he’s going to go down fighting. And we’re going to keep giving him a chance to make plays.”
The Bengals (8-4) led the whole first half and took a 14-10 lead into the locker room, though at one point the Chiefs trailed by 11. But Mahomes quickly engineered two touchdown drives in the third quarter to give the Chiefs the lead.
The first drive ended with an Isiah Pacheco 8-yard touchdown run. The second drive ended with Mahomes flying through the air on a 3-yard scramble — stretching out and almost dunking the ball over defenders to cross the goal line and get into the end zone.
Mahomes was 16 for 27 for 223 yards and a touchdown pass but it wasn’t enough. Burrow was 25 for 31 for 286 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a score.
“They got a great quarterback,” Mahomes said. “He’s a guy that’s won a lot of football games from college to the NFL. He’s someone that competes to the very end, too. They got playmakers all over there. They’re well-coached and have a good defense. And at the end of the day, they executed at a higher level.”
