Sure enough, the only thing that cost us this game was just having the right number of stupid things happening to us.
I could mention a number of them, but just that Bengals D-back barely punching that ball from Tyreek's hands in OT and having it bounce right into their other D-back's hands -- allowing them to get the ball in great field position so they could march down for the game-winning field goal.
There were a lot more -- I mean, after jetting out to a 21-3 we should have stretched it to 35-10 at the half. Then it should have been a comfortable 45-17 win. We were clearly the better team. It appeared we'd learned our lesson from that Week 17 loss.
We just took our foot off the gas. Somehow, someway, we went back to the old Andy Reidness of not going in for the kill. The Chiefs veered back into having to endure the stupid playoff game things derailing the success of a really good team, and Andy back to his habit of not getting it done in conference championship games.
One of the notable missteps was messing up not scoring at all at the very end of the first half when we had 1st-&-goal from the one with time for two good plays left. That, really, turned out to be major, when you think about it. Then there were the dozens of other stupid things that contributed.
I'm not going to go into them now. Don't know if I will, just not feeling it right now. Maybe I will, but you know, this isn't the worst. We have our title from two years ago, and we've still got Patrick Mahomes. So this loss just isn't one of the worst. Others were. Not that this doesn't hurt, but still. Four straight home AFC Championship Games, last week winning one of the greatest playoff games ever, still one of the elite teams in the NFL -- who can be too sad about that.
But yeah, just one note about one thing that really cost us, and yes, it is Patrick Mahomes.
The great ones simply cannot be great all the time.
Mahomes' play late was really kind-of not-good. I'll be nice.
Here's the one play I want to mention. Overall it is scary how poor he was playing, but with -- I believe it was 3rd down and we had the ball at the 15 or so, score 24-21 Bengals, something like minute, half-a-minute left, and we really need to score the touchdown. Make the score 28-24 us. In under a minute the Bengals have to score a touchdown to win.
So on that 3rd down, Mahomes goes back to pass and scrambles all over the field.
And keeps scrambling.
And scrambling.
AND MORE SCRAMBLING.
...Until he's so far away from the end zone -- his receivers so far away and thoroughly blanketed in the end zone -- that he allows himself to get sacked, fumbles the ball, watches it get recovered by Joe Thuney, and leaves himself to sigh in relief as Butker kicks the game-tying field goal.
Not good enough.
We needed the touchdown.
My main point is this.
Remember that 2019 AFC Championship Game, when at the very end of the first half the game-dominant Mahomes scrambled but immediately swerved left and outran the Titans defense for the go-ahead touchdown?
Well, he could have done it this time.
On the replay the entire right side was wiiide open for Mahomes to streak towards the line of scrimmage. He's so good at that, and I just think if he did that halfway into his mad scramble it would've drawn all those defenders up to try to stop him leaving somebody open in that end zone.
Now that was just one play, but I have to say it was emblematic of just the failure of Mahomes to do the requisite Mahomes thing. It happened throughout the second half -- we scored three points in the entire second half. Play after play after play he just looked very un-Mahomes-like.
Don't get me wrong. I want Mahomes out there for every Chiefs snap for the next ten years or more. He's awesome. He'll look at the tape and learn. That's awesome, he'll be back stronger than ever.
But we do have to give Cincinnati credit. They made very few mistakes and exploited every opportunity they had. The number of times Joe Burrow miraculously escaped our pass rush was head-shaking, yes, all those failures cost us too. Good thing for their long-suffering fans, too, it is fun to have your team in the Super Bowl.
As it is, I don't have to follow any of this any more. In an extraordinarily perverse way I don't have to spend the next two weeks looking at Chiefs stuff. I'm ready for a pro football break. Again, not that I don't want the Chiefs in the next 57 Super Bowls, but, well, we're not going to be in it again, at least it's not happening this year.
No matter, we'll be competitive for every year for the next several, that's a very good thing.
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