Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
-
skycruiser
- Posts: 1386
- Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:17 am
- Location: Parts Unknown
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
did that really happen yesterday?
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
As always with every Bengals playoff win this year, controversy. Andy Reid wanted the officials to review what he said was a Joe Mixon fumble on the final drive. The officials ruled he gave himself up and didn't try to advance. That's why I saw in the video. Yet there is plenty of backlash saying it should have at least been reviewed.
-
MeatHeadbengal
- Posts: 2233
- Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:15 pm
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
It wouldn't have mattered even if it was reviewed there wasn't a clear recovery by the defense. Andy just trying to save some face after completely screwing that team out of points at the end of the first half.Zoo wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 9:39 amAs always with every Bengals playoff win this year, controversy. Andy Reid wanted the officials to review what he said was a Joe Mixon fumble on the final drive. The officials ruled he gave himself up and didn't try to advance. That's why I saw in the video. Yet there is plenty of backlash saying it should have at least been reviewed.
Super Bowl Bound!
-
skycruiser
- Posts: 1386
- Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:17 am
- Location: Parts Unknown
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
excellent peice (as always) by paul dehner jr
‘Who Dey-ing through the night’: Bengals’ unforgettable ride lands them in the Super Bowl
Jan 30, 2022; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) holds the AFC Championship trophy after the AFC championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Mandatory Credit: Albert Cesare-USA TODAY Sports
By Paul Dehner Jr. Jan 31, 2022 34
KANSAS CITY — Mike Brown held the Lamar Hunt trophy in his hands. Standing on a stage not far from the 21-yard line where Evan McPherson delivered yet another game-winning field goal and sent the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl 56, the Bengals owner turned toward his head coach.
Zac Taylor held a championship smile as he looked out at the sea of players that transformed a 6-25-1 record into one of the most unforeseen conference-title turnarounds in NFL history.
The owner who’d hired him three years ago and stood by him through two tumultuous years extended the trophy into his hands. Taylor held it aloft toward his team.
“You are really just looking down on all of the players and coaches and the joy in their faces,” Taylor said after the Bengals’ 27-24 victory over the Chiefs. “Such an incredible moment.”
The Bengals might win multiple championships. Joe Burrow looks destined to stand on this stage next to the owner and coach many more times. This team could develop into a dynasty, considering the collection of young talent wearing AFC champion hats with cigar smoke billowing over the bills Sunday night.
Two weeks from now at SoFi Stadium against the Rams, the Bengals will have a chance to capture the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Those are stories for another day.
For now, for this improbable team, for this often-punchlined organization, for this tortured sports city, this scene instantly etched as an untouchable moment of a lifetime. You break through only once.
“It is a moment you will never be able to replicate,” Taylor said. “We may get to do this again, hopefully, that is the plan certainly. I don’t know if it will ever be as special as the moment we had right there.”
As Tyler Shelvin lifted Burrow on his shoulders and Brown made his way onto the stage, Bengals fans who filled Arrowhead Stadium raced down to the lower bowl.
Chants of “Who Dey” inserted themselves into the atmosphere starting in the third quarter when the 18-point comeback began. With every Burrow conversion, defensive stop and play that sent Patrick Mahomes into a rattled state of discombobulation rarely seen, the chants came louder and more often. So, once the trophy was in hand, fans from a city that until three weeks ago hadn’t experienced any professional postseason advancement since the Reds in 1995, could be seen, felt and heard.
“The people in Cincinnati are going to be Who Dey-ing through the night,” Brown said.
Tyler Shelvin lifts Joe Burrow after winning the AFC Championship Game. (Albert Cesare / USA Today)
Kevin Huber stood atop a bench with a smile as defining as the pride of his hometown, championship shirt over his shoulder pads, and he soaked it in with his arms spread out wide. A cathartic explosion of “Who Dey” was chanted right back at him.
“It felt like half of the stadium was at the end of the game when all of the fans got down there,” Taylor said. “It was a special moment. I am so happy for the City of Cincinnati.”
A city starved for moments like these now is drowning in them. One incredible January established this as the most beloved Bengals team in history.
Beloved for what they ended.
Beloved for what they started.
Beloved for memories they branded on the hearts of Bengals fans forever.
Beloved for the manner in which they did it all.
It was fitting that Sunday’s game required what tied the record for the greatest comeback in conference championship game history. Resiliency, belief and magical connectivity have been the Bengals’ defining traits all season. Using all three was the only way to flip a 21-3 deficit into trophy hoisting.
“It shows what type of group we have,” said Vonn Bell, who made it three games in a row that the Bengals’ final defensive play of the game was an interception. “Everyone had belief. Anything is capable with this group. We were down and we just kept on fighting. That group of guys in the locker room, they don’t bat an eye. We’re showing the world who we are, and we’re going to keep showing the world who we are.”
They are once again underdogs, 3 1/2 points, to be exact, against the Rams. Again, only fitting. The Bengals might not have liked the underdog narrative, but it lived on their shoulders. Placed there by everyone. Vanquished every time. Burrow and the Bengals were 6-0 this season when underdogs of at least three points.
That’s not by coincidence. As Taylor stood on the stage and looked at the joyous faces, he saw players looking back at him who almost all had been counted out. Unsurprisingly, a team filled with the forgotten or discounted thrived yet again when the situation to be counted out arrived once more.
From B.J. Hill, traded away by the Giants to the Bengals days before the season started, making an interception to set up the game-tying touchdown.
Then Trent Taylor, cut by the 49ers and on the practice squad until Week 15, snapping his route wide open for a two-point conversion, the only play on the call sheet with his name on it.
Samaje Perine, a backup running back, cut and plucked off practice squads, sprinting for a 41-yard touchdown reception.
Then Bell, not re-signed by the Saints and questioned for his coverage skills last season, snagging the interception that would change the game and deliver the Super Bowl berth.
Eli Apple, a cornerback already on his third team and labeled by some as a draft bust, tracking and tackling the fastest player in the league, Tyreek Hill, in space to make the game’s momentum-changing play before halftime.
And then Burrow, the face of it all, the kid from Athens, Ohio, who had to transfer out of Ohio State to find a football shot, who people said should try to force a trade to not come to Cincinnati, becoming one of the most remarkable culture changers the league has ever seen. Now heading to the Super Bowl one season after his knee was torn to shreds in Washington.
Cornerback Mike Hilton, discarded by Pittsburgh in March, amid the madness of the celebration, cried as he embraced Taylor and told him he loved him. Those were far from the only tears.
The unlikely journey that led to this stage is part of what made the moment so emotional.
“To be able to come out on top and celebrate with these teammates,” Sam Hubbard said, “it’s something I’ll carry with me the rest of my life.”
Joe Mixon takes a selfie with Joe Burrow, Tyler Boyd and the Lamar Hunt Trophy. (Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)
The moment McPherson’s kick sailed through the uprights, Hubbard found his position coach, Marion Hobby, for a hug. Burrow, after hugging Taylor when the kick went through, made sure to find trainer Nick Cosgray, who helped him through the grueling offseason rehab from his knee injury. Tee Higgins looked for receivers coach Troy Walters and yelled, “We’re going to the Super Bowl.”
Even saying the words couldn’t wash away the surreal nature of the moment.
“It didn’t feel real at all, I’m not going to lie,” Higgins said.
Yeah, this one will take time to sink in. The Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl.
Nobody can ever take that fact or that moment away from them.
“We’re going to the Super Bowl,” Hubbard said. “It sounds crazy to say that. When you say that, it’s hard to believe. We’re here. I love this team. I love this city. We got one more to get it all.”
‘Who Dey-ing through the night’: Bengals’ unforgettable ride lands them in the Super Bowl
Jan 30, 2022; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) holds the AFC Championship trophy after the AFC championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Mandatory Credit: Albert Cesare-USA TODAY Sports
By Paul Dehner Jr. Jan 31, 2022 34
KANSAS CITY — Mike Brown held the Lamar Hunt trophy in his hands. Standing on a stage not far from the 21-yard line where Evan McPherson delivered yet another game-winning field goal and sent the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl 56, the Bengals owner turned toward his head coach.
Zac Taylor held a championship smile as he looked out at the sea of players that transformed a 6-25-1 record into one of the most unforeseen conference-title turnarounds in NFL history.
The owner who’d hired him three years ago and stood by him through two tumultuous years extended the trophy into his hands. Taylor held it aloft toward his team.
“You are really just looking down on all of the players and coaches and the joy in their faces,” Taylor said after the Bengals’ 27-24 victory over the Chiefs. “Such an incredible moment.”
The Bengals might win multiple championships. Joe Burrow looks destined to stand on this stage next to the owner and coach many more times. This team could develop into a dynasty, considering the collection of young talent wearing AFC champion hats with cigar smoke billowing over the bills Sunday night.
Two weeks from now at SoFi Stadium against the Rams, the Bengals will have a chance to capture the first Super Bowl title in franchise history.
Those are stories for another day.
For now, for this improbable team, for this often-punchlined organization, for this tortured sports city, this scene instantly etched as an untouchable moment of a lifetime. You break through only once.
“It is a moment you will never be able to replicate,” Taylor said. “We may get to do this again, hopefully, that is the plan certainly. I don’t know if it will ever be as special as the moment we had right there.”
As Tyler Shelvin lifted Burrow on his shoulders and Brown made his way onto the stage, Bengals fans who filled Arrowhead Stadium raced down to the lower bowl.
Chants of “Who Dey” inserted themselves into the atmosphere starting in the third quarter when the 18-point comeback began. With every Burrow conversion, defensive stop and play that sent Patrick Mahomes into a rattled state of discombobulation rarely seen, the chants came louder and more often. So, once the trophy was in hand, fans from a city that until three weeks ago hadn’t experienced any professional postseason advancement since the Reds in 1995, could be seen, felt and heard.
“The people in Cincinnati are going to be Who Dey-ing through the night,” Brown said.
Tyler Shelvin lifts Joe Burrow after winning the AFC Championship Game. (Albert Cesare / USA Today)
Kevin Huber stood atop a bench with a smile as defining as the pride of his hometown, championship shirt over his shoulder pads, and he soaked it in with his arms spread out wide. A cathartic explosion of “Who Dey” was chanted right back at him.
“It felt like half of the stadium was at the end of the game when all of the fans got down there,” Taylor said. “It was a special moment. I am so happy for the City of Cincinnati.”
A city starved for moments like these now is drowning in them. One incredible January established this as the most beloved Bengals team in history.
Beloved for what they ended.
Beloved for what they started.
Beloved for memories they branded on the hearts of Bengals fans forever.
Beloved for the manner in which they did it all.
It was fitting that Sunday’s game required what tied the record for the greatest comeback in conference championship game history. Resiliency, belief and magical connectivity have been the Bengals’ defining traits all season. Using all three was the only way to flip a 21-3 deficit into trophy hoisting.
“It shows what type of group we have,” said Vonn Bell, who made it three games in a row that the Bengals’ final defensive play of the game was an interception. “Everyone had belief. Anything is capable with this group. We were down and we just kept on fighting. That group of guys in the locker room, they don’t bat an eye. We’re showing the world who we are, and we’re going to keep showing the world who we are.”
They are once again underdogs, 3 1/2 points, to be exact, against the Rams. Again, only fitting. The Bengals might not have liked the underdog narrative, but it lived on their shoulders. Placed there by everyone. Vanquished every time. Burrow and the Bengals were 6-0 this season when underdogs of at least three points.
That’s not by coincidence. As Taylor stood on the stage and looked at the joyous faces, he saw players looking back at him who almost all had been counted out. Unsurprisingly, a team filled with the forgotten or discounted thrived yet again when the situation to be counted out arrived once more.
From B.J. Hill, traded away by the Giants to the Bengals days before the season started, making an interception to set up the game-tying touchdown.
Then Trent Taylor, cut by the 49ers and on the practice squad until Week 15, snapping his route wide open for a two-point conversion, the only play on the call sheet with his name on it.
Samaje Perine, a backup running back, cut and plucked off practice squads, sprinting for a 41-yard touchdown reception.
Then Bell, not re-signed by the Saints and questioned for his coverage skills last season, snagging the interception that would change the game and deliver the Super Bowl berth.
Eli Apple, a cornerback already on his third team and labeled by some as a draft bust, tracking and tackling the fastest player in the league, Tyreek Hill, in space to make the game’s momentum-changing play before halftime.
And then Burrow, the face of it all, the kid from Athens, Ohio, who had to transfer out of Ohio State to find a football shot, who people said should try to force a trade to not come to Cincinnati, becoming one of the most remarkable culture changers the league has ever seen. Now heading to the Super Bowl one season after his knee was torn to shreds in Washington.
Cornerback Mike Hilton, discarded by Pittsburgh in March, amid the madness of the celebration, cried as he embraced Taylor and told him he loved him. Those were far from the only tears.
The unlikely journey that led to this stage is part of what made the moment so emotional.
“To be able to come out on top and celebrate with these teammates,” Sam Hubbard said, “it’s something I’ll carry with me the rest of my life.”
Joe Mixon takes a selfie with Joe Burrow, Tyler Boyd and the Lamar Hunt Trophy. (Jay Biggerstaff / USA Today)
The moment McPherson’s kick sailed through the uprights, Hubbard found his position coach, Marion Hobby, for a hug. Burrow, after hugging Taylor when the kick went through, made sure to find trainer Nick Cosgray, who helped him through the grueling offseason rehab from his knee injury. Tee Higgins looked for receivers coach Troy Walters and yelled, “We’re going to the Super Bowl.”
Even saying the words couldn’t wash away the surreal nature of the moment.
“It didn’t feel real at all, I’m not going to lie,” Higgins said.
Yeah, this one will take time to sink in. The Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl.
Nobody can ever take that fact or that moment away from them.
“We’re going to the Super Bowl,” Hubbard said. “It sounds crazy to say that. When you say that, it’s hard to believe. We’re here. I love this team. I love this city. We got one more to get it all.”
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
Good read sky, thanks.
orange jerseys.” 
-
skycruiser
- Posts: 1386
- Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2019 8:17 am
- Location: Parts Unknown
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
i love the orange but the white are growing on me. just ordered an evan mcpherson one from the china website i get all my jersey's from
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
I believe the NFL rules prevent a team from wearing alternate jerseys in the Super Bowl. It should be the black jerseys with white pants....
-
orange_black
- Posts: 974
- Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2019 2:14 pm
-
Joe the Sot
- Posts: 571
- Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:44 pm
Re: Bengals v Chiefs AFC Championship Game Thread.
Awesome was gutted to see him injured he is a great team mate even if he isn’t the best TE in the world and massive upgrade on sampleorange_black wrote: ↑Mon Jan 31, 2022 1:23 pmlooks like might have CJ back for superbowl.
https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/news/upd ... -cj-uzomah