Bengals’ penalty for late hit on Patrick Mahomes was the second that determined AFC Championship

The Cincinnati Bengals have nobody in charge however themselves for a way the AFC Championship Recreation resulted in Kansas Metropolis. Regardless of having drained the Chiefs’ timeouts with 17 seconds remaining within the sport, the Bengals produced an impactful penalty that pushed Kansas Metropolis from outdoors of subject purpose vary to inside subject purpose vary and fully turned the sport on its head right away.

Going through a third-and-4 on Cincinnati’s 47-yard line, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — restricted athletically attributable to a excessive ankle sprain — broke the pocket to maneuver the sticks and provides Kansas Metropolis one other play or two within the sport. Regardless that Mahomes had managed to get each toes out of bounds on the level of contact, Bengals cross rusher Joseph Ossai — who for no matter cause was unaware of the high-leverage scenario — hit the star quarterback nicely outdoors the sector of play. To make it worse, Ossai needed to placed on the brakes shortly, as he was about to run into his group’s bench, which brought on a visual hyperextension of his knee that demanded quick therapy from the Cincinnati medical workers.

That hit, which served no objective as Mahomes was going out of bounds to cease the clock, value the Bengals 15 yards, turning a 56-yard subject purpose try right into a 41-yarder — a relative chip shot for knowledgeable kicker. Earlier than the penalty, the Chiefs have been proper on the sting of subject purpose vary, that means they most likely would have tried another cross to the sideline space. At that time, they couldn’t have afforded to be tackled in bounds with none timeouts remaining and solely eight seconds left on the clock.

There’s no promise that Kansas Metropolis kicker Harrison Butker, who has struggled for stretches since his early-season ankle damage, may have made that 56-yard subject purpose or that Mahomes and the Chiefs may have accomplished another cross, because the Bengals ought to have been conscious of the sideline-only scenario they have been in. However Ossai ought to have had situational consciousness on the play earlier than, too, and now Kansas Metropolis goes to the Tremendous Bowl for the third time in 4 seasons.