From Jay Morrison
The Bengals answered the question of whether they could make the playoffs with a stirring 34-31 comeback win against the two-time defending AFC champion Chiefs on Sunday. The questions now turn to whom they will face, and when.
We’ll have to wait another six days to figure all of that out, although we can break down the path to the No. 1 seed and first-round bye and the other slots they could occupy, which feels like the perfect way to kick off this week’s Final Thoughts. Here are 46 notes, quotes, stats, grades and ramifications resulting from Sunday’s win, one for each player who dressed for the Bengals and contributed to the most impactful win in the history of Paul Brown Stadium.
1. Let’s start with what the win means for playoff positioning and possible first-round matchups. If the Bengals beat the Browns, they could finish anywhere from the No. 1 to No. 4 seed. In order to grab the top seed, they also would need the Chiefs to lose at the Broncos, the Titans to lose at the Texans and then either one of the following two things to happen — Patriots lose at the Dolphins or Bills win at home versus the Jets.
2. That’s because in a four-way tie with the Chiefs, Titans and Patriots, the Bengals and Patriots advance with the best conference record, then the Patriots edge out the Bengals with the better record in common games. However, if the Bills win, they win the AFC East and knock the Patriots into a wild-card spot. In a four-way tie with the Chiefs, Titans and Bills, the Bengals win it with the best conference record.
3. Because the Chiefs-Broncos game was moved to Saturday, the Bengals will know whether they are still alive for the No. 1 seed and first-round bye by the time they kick off against the Browns at 1 p.m. Sunday.
4. The No. 2 seed no longer comes with the perk of a first-round bye, but it still holds great weight in that it guarantees a second home playoff game should the team win its opener. To get the No. 2 seed, the Bengals would need to beat the Browns and have either the Chiefs or Titans lose and either a Bills win or Patriots loss.
5. If the Bengals lose to the Browns, the best seed they can get is No. 3. And the only way that would happen is with a Bills home loss to the Jets and a Patriots loss at the Dolphins. So No. 4 would be an almost certainty, as would an opening-round game against the Patriots. Should the Patriots lose, the Bengals’ opponent in a 4-5 match would be the Raiders if they beat the Chargers; or the Colts if the Colts beat the Jaguars and the Chargers beat the Raiders.
6. As for a question that might be on a lot of minds, yes, the Bengals could play the Steelers in a first-round game at Paul Brown Stadium. It can only happen as a 2-7 matchup, so the first thing that has to happen is the Steelers win Monday night at home against the Browns and next week at the Ravens, then the Bengals have to beat the Browns, and either the Chiefs or Titans would have to lose and either the Patriots would have to lose or the Bills would have to win.
7. The other question is whether the Bengals will rest any starters Sunday in Cleveland. Here is what head coach Zac Taylor had to say on the subject during his Monday news conference: “If guys have some bumps and bruises and it’s better off making sure they get healthy, that’s something we have to talk through what our approach is going to be. In 2018 (with the Rams), we were in a very similar situation where you’re discussing how much does the potential seed matter as opposed to making sure guys are healthy and ready to go for the playoff run.”
8. Taylor said Joe Burrow, who left the game late after twisting his right knee, is good. As far as Quinton Spain, who left the game with a right ankle injury, Taylor said it was a sprain and that he doesn’t anticipate him being ready for the Browns game but “Hopefully wouldn’t be much longer after that.”
9. You can bet Tyler Boyd wants to play Sunday against the Browns for personal reasons, and for painful ones: “Of course I do. You know, I’m trying to get 1,000 (yards receiving). I think I still need 160, somewhere around there (172, actually). I still believe in myself, and I believe in our team to get the win. Regardless, if they’re eliminated and we’re in, we want to go out there and beat them because they humiliated us last time.”
10. Less clear is what is bothering kicker Evan McPherson. Speaking on the CBS postgame show, Burrow praised McPherson and said he “kind of battled through some stuff.” Asked what he was dealing with Monday, McPherson said, “I think we are going to keep it to ourselves right now. But the only thing I will say is it’s nothing to worry about. Just some minor things we are kind of working through. I’ll get it fixed and get ready for this playoff run that we are going to make.”
11. McPherson later said he wants to kick Sunday in Cleveland. “If it were up to me, I’m going to play this week. I’m good enough to, healthy enough to and I expect to. Nothing too serious.”
12. Taylor described the issue as “tightness,” which would explain a couple of things. First, McPherson entered the game ranked ninth in the league with 54 touchbacks and 11th in touchback percentage (63.5). But only one of his six kickoffs resulted in a touchback Sunday, and he had two uncharacteristically short ones that the Chiefs fielded at the 20 and 11, the latter almost costing the Bengals as Byron Pringle ran it back 89 yards for a touchdown only to have it wiped out by a holding call that didn’t really affect the return.
13. McPherson’s issues also give a glimpse into why the Bengals took the deep shot on third-and-27 on the play where Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase for 30 yards down the right sideline to set up the Bengals at the Kansas City 11 on the game’s wild final drive that had a bit of everything. There was no way McPherson was going to make a 59-yarder if that pass is incomplete, and even if they checked it down to get in the 47-to-49-yard range, they could have been risky given the tightness he was battling.
14. As it turned out, all he needed was the 20-yarder on the game’s final play for his third game-winner of the year as time expired.
15. The kick not only gave the Bengals their first division title and first three-game winning streak since 2015, but it made Taylor the betting favorite to win NFL Coach of the Year. According to sportsbetting.ag’s newest odds, Taylor sits at +140, followed the Packers’ Matt LaFleur (+150), the Titans’ Mike Vrabel (+350), the Eagles’ Nick Sirianni (+1200) and the Patriots’ Bill Belichick (+1600). Marvin Lewis was the last Bengals coach to win the award, doing so in 2009.
16. Also on the betting front, Burrow significantly closed the gap on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for the Comeback Payer of the Year award, which has been a two-man race all year. Prescott is only a slight favorite at -175 to Burrow’s +135, but on Dec. 14, Prescott was -1000 to Burrow’s +700.
17. And Chase’s record-breaking day that saw him catch 11 passes for 266 yards and three touchdowns moved him back into the role as the favorite for the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Chase is at -250, while Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is at +170. Just last week, Jones was -600 and Chase +350.
18. As if Chase’s stat line wasn’t eye-popping enough, check it out when you square it up with NFL history:
19. With his 266 receiving yards, Chase surpassed Jerry Butler (255 on Sept. 23, 1979) for the most in a single game in NFL history.
20. Chase has 1,429 receiving yards, surpassing his former LSU teammate and Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (1,400 in 2020) for the most by a rookie in NFL history.
21. Chase also is the first rookie in league history and fifth player in the Super Bowl era to record multiple games with at least 200 receiving yards in a single season, joining Hall of Famers Calvin Johnson (2011, 2012) and Don Maynard (1968), plus Josh Gordon (2013) and Alshon Jeffery (2013).
22. Per Elias and bengals.com reporter Geoff Hobson, Chase also made NFL history with his second touchdown Sunday, the 69-yarder in the third quarter.
23. Chase moved ahead of the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel for the league lead in yards per reception at 18.1. Samuel is at 17.9. The last Bengals player to lead the league in yards per catch was Eddie Brown (24) in 1988.
24. The Burrow superlatives are almost as impressive as he broke Andy Dalton’s single-season record for passing yards and touchdown passes while lifting the Bengals into Super Bowl contender status.
25. Burrow also became the second quarterback in NFL history with at least 450 passing yards and four touchdown passes in consecutive games, joining Jameis Winston (Weeks 14-15, 2019).
26. And Burrow’s 971 passing yards in his past two games move him past Phil Simms (945 in Weeks 5-6, 1985) for the second-most passing yards in a two-game span in NFL history. Only Prescott (974 passing yards in Weeks 3-4, 2020) had more.
27. For the first time since Week 6, Burrow is no longer the NFL leader interceptions or within one of that dubious title.
28. Burrow has not thrown an interception in four consecutive games, tying his career-high in addition to tying the fourth-longest streak in team history among quarterbacks with at least 12 attempts per game. Neil O’Donnell holds the record with seven in a row (1998), followed by Ken Anderson (1973-74) and Andy Dalton (2017) with six each. Burrow also had a four-game streak that spanned his final three starts of 2020 and the 2021 season opener. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers has the league’s longest active streak at six.
29. Pro Football Focus graded Chase as the Bengals’ top offensive performer with a 91.3, followed by left tackle Jonah Williams (85.7), Burrow (80.3), Boyd (65.1) and left guard Jackson Carman (64.5), who came on in relief of Spain.
30. The Bengals have scored at least 30 points in seven games, which is tied for second-most in franchise history with the 2015 and 1986 teams. The 1981 team had eight 30-plus games.
31. They have gone three consecutive games without a turnover for just the fourth time in franchise history. They also had three-game stretches in 2017 and 2016. And they set the franchise record of four in a row in 1998, which the Bengals could match Sunday in Cleveland. The Packers have the league’s longest current streak of games without a turnover at four.
32. Lost in all the video game numbers posted by the offense was the second-half answer by coordinator Lou Anarumo’s defense. In addition to holding Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to three points and 122 yards after halftime, the Bengals defense allowed Kansas City to run just 22 plays and gain seven first downs.
33. Here’s where those second-half numbers rank on the season for the Chiefs: plays (lowest), yards (second-lowest), points (tied for second-lowest), first downs (tied for third-lowest).
34. And for Mahomes’ career: points (tied for third-lowest), plays (tied for fourth-lowest), first downs (tied for eighth-lowest), yards (eighth-lowest).
35. Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson returned from his shoulder injury and played 100 percent of the defensive snaps for just the third time this season (Jaguars, Browns). Wilson finished with eight tackles, which were second-most on the team.
36. “It’s huge to have Logan back,” Anarumo said. “He went right back to being the green dot for us, being the play caller and he’s used to doing it. He settles everybody down, gets the front aligned, sets the blitzes up so when you have the same guy doing that, and oh, by the way, you get another athletic guy in coverage.”
37. Chidobe Awuzie, who also played 100 percent of the snaps for just the second time since Week 2, led the defense with 10 tackles, setting a new career-high. Five of Awuzie’s tackles came on one drive, the 11-play, 52-yarder in the fourth quarter when the Bengals limited the Chiefs to a field goal for their only points of the second half. His first tackle may have been the most impressive, an open-field stop of Darrel Williams short of the line to gain on a third-and-2 screen pass (although the Chiefs converted on fourth-and-1 and scored their first touchdown one play after that).
38. Despite allowing seven catches on eight targets, Awuzie only allowed 31 receiving yards while mostly covering Tyreek Hill and received the team’s highest defensive grade from Pro Football Focus. And it wasn’t even close. Awuzie had a career-high 89 grade in coverage and an 88.5 overall grade, which also was a career-high. PFF only credited him with nine tackles, four of which were for offensive failures.
39. Rounding out the top five were cornerback Mike Hilton (72), defensive tackle Josh Tupou (68.3), Logan Wilson (67.6) and safety Vonn Bell (66.9).
40. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson saw his franchise-record streak of consecutive games with at least a half-sack snapped at 11, one game shy of Jevon Kearse’s NFL record, but he still played a huge role in getting pressure on Mahomes, especially in the second half.
41. Hendrickson finished with four pressures, moving him into a tie with Shaq Barrett for the third-most in the league with 75, one shy of Rashan Gary and 15 behind league leader Maxx Crosby.
42. The most important pressure of the day came on the Chiefs’ final offensive play of the game. It was third-and-5 at the Cincinnati 16, and the Bengals led 31-28. Anarumo did what you’re not supposed to do against Mahomes, calling a zero blitz. It caught Mahomes and the Chiefs off-guard and led to an incompletion that forced them to settle for a game-tying field goal with 6:01 to go, setting up the Bengals’ 15-play final drive that used every last second.
43. “It’s kind of one of our core, third-down pressures,” Anarumo said. “I was holding it for the second half in a critical situation. That was as critical a situation as you’re going to get. We knew we had to force a field goal there and right on the edge of the fringe red area. Where we were, we hadn’t been heavy pressure. We kind of went against our tendencies a little bit there, and I just felt it was right time, right place. Guys executed it great. I wanted to be aggressive most of the game.”
44. The fans also played a role on that play and throughout the game, and both safety Jessie Bates and Taylor made sure to mention that Monday in the afterglow.
45. First, Bates: “They were amazing. They could have booed us (after the slow start). I’ve been a part of it where they were booing us when we gave up four-for-four touchdowns in the first half. It says a lot about the city. It says a lot about the fan base that they’re behind us. As we continue to play well, hopefully, our fans will continue to support us. It’s a special feeling as a defense. We’re kind of all in the huddle and it’s like, ‘We can’t hear you, Logan, we can’t hear you.'”
46. And Taylor: “Really happy that we got to do it at home because the stadium was rocking — by far and away the best environment I’ve been a part of here. You really look at … we haven’t the last two years given the stadium a whole lot to cheer for and reasons to be packed. This year for the fans to show up the way they did and support us in that moment and carry us to that moment, and then they get to enjoy it firsthand and not just on TV was a really, really cool experience for all of us.”
