CHARLESTON, S.c. — I remember sitting in my hotel room the night of the Super Bowl last year thinking two things. One: how bright the future looked for the Cincinnati Bengals looked. And two: if they would ever get back to the Super Bowl.
Here we are, almost a year later, and the Bengals are playing in their second straight AFC Championship with a chance to go back to the Super Bowl. It’s a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs and the fourth matchup between the two teams in the last 13 months. Here are my thoughts on Sunday’s AFC Championship.
1. There’s a lot more on the line in this year’s game than last year’s game. I’m talking to the point of legacies being at stake. We’re at the point now where we can start talking about Patrick Mahomes’s legacy. He’s great, there’s no denying that. But he’s only 2-2 in AFC Championship games, and there hasn’t been this seemingly invincible feeling surrounding him and the Chiefs since they lost Super Bowl LV. The Bengals certainly don’t think they’re invincible. What Mahomes has done this year, his first without Tyreek Hill, is extraordinary. But a loss on Sunday could put, perhaps, a little more than a blip on his resume.
2. Joe Burrow said this week that winning is expected in Cincinnati. But it’s incredible the Bengals are in this position after starting 0-2. I remember that time well, even though it’s long since been removed. Like the players, I was stunned. Was 2021 really a one-hit wonder? So much for all of those high expectations. This team could have easily folded, but they didn’t. Every piece of adversity this team faced only made them stronger. They didn’t get caught up in their success from last year. They didn’t let 0-2 or a blowout loss on Monday Night Football deter them. Case in point: they haven’t lost since that Monday Night Football blowout.
3. When you think about what Joe Burrow can accomplish this Sunday, it’s historic. A win Sunday would give Burrow his second straight trip to the Super Bowl, and the list of quarterbacks to accomplish that is legendary. Plus, a win on Sunday would give Burrow more Super Bowl appearances than Dan Marino, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Steve Young just to name a few. He will also tie Brett Favre, Patrick Mahomes and Eli Manning just to name a few with two Super Bowl appearances.
4. The Bengals are the reigning AFC champions. And that has multiple meanings. First off, the Chiefs are now in the position of “if you want to be the best, you got to beat the best.” The Bengals were in that position last year, against the two-time defending AFC champions, and beat them.
5. Secondly, all season everybody talked about an Allen-Mahomes matchup in the AFC Championship. So much so, tickets were sold to a potential neutral site AFC Championship game in Atlanta. It was, perhaps, assumed all season that the Bills and Chiefs were the two best teams all season. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor apologized for ruining the NFL’s plans, but that’s honestly okay. Allen is 2-3 against Mahomes anyway, with each of his two seasons prior to this one ending against him in Kansas City. Burrow, on the other hand, is 3-0 against Mahomes in his career. And what the Bengals did last week at Buffalo proves they’re in the top two of the AFC. And right now, can you really argue against the Bengals being the best team in the AFC?
6. There was talk leading up to the regular-season about Burrow-Mahomes being the next Brady-Manning rivalry. Burrow is 3-0 against Mahomes, and it’s worth pointing out that Brady won his first six starts against Peyton Manning.
7. It’s also interesting that Mahomes dominated the AFC before Burrow came along, and then out of nowhere Burrow comes along and now feels like the best quarterback in the AFC. Suddenly, it feels like there’s more pressure on Mahomes than there is on Joe Burrow.
8. Opportunity in Cincinnati comes around few and far between. Joe Burrow recently said the Super Bowl window is his whole career, and that’s great confidence. But you really do never know what’s going to happen and if the Bengals will ever have an opportunity like this again. They’re healthy, they have this chip on their shoulder, they have the talent and coaching and there’s a sense they can beat anybody.
9. The motivation is high and the chip on their shoulder is genuine. There is no pressure on this team. There is pressure on Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City. I believe this Bengals team is a team of destiny.
Game pick: Bengals 34 Chiefs 31 in OT (Evan McPherson from 45 yards after each team scores a touchdown)
Let me be Frank and Cut to the Chase 