Chiefs grades: With admirable report card, KC advances to Super Bowl LVII vs. Eagles

It was the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, so it had to be a field-goal game.

And this time it went the Chiefs’ way, as KC beat the Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game.

“It took everybody,” Patrick Mahomes said after the game. “I told our team in the locker room, it’s going to be all of us.”

KC STAR OF THE GAME

So many heroes for the Chiefs, but let’s go with Chris Jones. He got the first playoff sack of his career, and then his second. The second one ended the Bengals’ last gasp and gave the Chiefs their final and game-winning possession.

Next: The Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

REPORT CARD

Passing offense: B

The numbers look good: Mahomes was 29 for 43 for 326 yards and two touchdowns, and in the end that was enough. The Chiefs had to throw because they couldn’t run.

As for specifics, Chiefs looked to be creative with an early a hook and lateral. But the Kelce-to-McKinnon connection didn’t work. McKinnon was too far away; the ball fell to the ground and the running back had to fall on it

Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney nearly came down with a superb touchdown grab to complete the first possession. The Chiefs believed it was close enough to challenge. Toney left the game with an ankle injury in the first half, depriving the Chiefs of one of their fastest players.

The return of Mecole Hardman didn’t make much difference and he later was injured, as well.

In the second half, Mahomes started limping for the first time. He also made a clumsy mistakes, losing possession of the ball via a fumble while rolling out.

But it was an excellent read by Mahomes on the touchdown pass to Kelce on fourth-and-1. That reception was the 15th of Kelce’s playoff career, tying Rob Gronkowski for second all-time.

Also, it was a huge game for WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who led the Chiefs with 116 receiving yards and caught one of Mahomes’ touchdown passes.

Rushing offense: D

The Chiefs needed to be better here in order to protect Mahomes. But it didn’t happen. The Chiefs’ longest run of the night went for 6 yards. Because of Mahomes’ injury, he wasn’t able to break out and run, and that part of his game has been effective against the Bengals in recent meetings.

Then came the biggest play of the game: The gimpy Mahomes rushed for 5 yards and was hit out of bounds by Cincy’s Joseph Ossai. The result was a 15-yard penalty, making Harrison Butker’s field-goal attempt a more reasonable 45 yards.

A 9-yard Isiah Pacheco run to the end zone was called back on an Andrew Wylie holding penalty and the Chiefs settled for a field goal on the possession.

Passing defense: A

The game could not have started any better for the Chiefs. Sacks by Frank Clark, Willie Gay, George Karlaftis and Chris Jones kept Burrow and the Bengals’ passing offense off-balance.

Three of the sacks came with the Chiefs rushing four. A strong pass rush allowed Jaylen Watson to step in front of a Burrow ball for his second interception in two playoff games.

CBS flashed the stat at halftime: Heading into the game, the Bengals were 4-11-1 when Burrow is sacked four or more times. Yes, that was Jones’ first career sack in 14 playoff games, and he added another in the fourth quarter.

Watson could do nothing about the Bengals’ first touchdown, a 27-yard reception by Tee Higgins on a perfectly thrown ball. Rookie safety Bryan Cook had a bad series on the Bengals’ touchdown drive that make it 20-20 early in the fourth quarter. He was burned on a long completion on fourth and 6.

But Cook got his hand on a ball intended for Tee Higgins that Joshua Williams turned into an interception.

Rushing defense: A

The Chiefs allowed an acceptable 71 rushing yards. Samaje Perine, who had 155 total yards against the Chiefs in the regular season, finished with 26. The Chiefs’ defense was rugged and physical throughout the game.

One embarrassing moment: The middle of the Chiefs’ defense didn’t exist when Burrow took a snap and sprinted for an 11-yard gain on third and 6 in the third quarter.

Special teams: A

Butker has had his struggles this season, but he was money with his game-winning 45-yarder with a few seconds remaining. He’s made every big field goal in the playoffs in a Chiefs uniform. He made two earlier kicks from 43 and 24 yards.

Tommy Townsend was excellent with two punts inside the 10, and how about Skyy Moore? Back at punt return because no one else was available, his 29-yard effort set up the game-winning possession.