By: Kaleigh Longerbeam
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time in 33 years, the Cincinnati Bengals were one win away from winning the AFC Championship game and going to the Superbowl. Their opponent? The Kansas City Chiefs. With all odds seeming to be stacked against them, the Cincinnati Bengals were able to pull off their biggest win in over three decades and make it to the Superbowl.
The game, played in the Chiefs’ home stadium Arrowhead, started out rough for the Bengals. Kansas City scored a touchdown in the first quarter while Cincinnati only scored a field goal. By the second quarter, things were not looking up.
Kansas City was able to gain a 21-3 lead against Cincinnati, leaving the team and its fans crushed and believing that there was no way to come back. The wait during halftime seemed to last a lifetime as fans anxiously waited to see how the second half would play out. Finally, the players headed back onto the field, and the third quarter began.
Starting off strong with a field goal by kicker Evan McPherson and ending with a touchdown by wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati was able to tie Kansas City’s score 21-21. However, it wasn’t time to rejoice just yet. The fourth quarter would put Cincinnati fans to the ultimate test.
The fourth quarter begins. McPherson started off strong for Cincinnati with a field goal, putting them ahead by three points at the 6:23 mark on the clock. At 6:04, however, Kansas City’s kicker Harrison Butker was able to score and tie the game again. No more points are scored during the fourth quarter.
The game officially goes into overtime. The stakes are higher than ever before. All it takes is one score to decide who wins the 2022 AFC Championship title and goes to the Superbowl, the biggest game of the football season. Fans from both teams are on the edge of their seats in Arrowhead Stadium. People watching from home can’t take their eyes off of the TV. With nearly five minutes left, the game changes.
Cincinnati is in range for a field goal. It’s up to McPherson to make the kick. He kicks the football into the endzone, and the kick is good!
Cincinnati did it. For the first time in 33 years, they were going to the Superbowl.
Arrowhead was electric. There was a wide range of emotions from elated to devastated, and the cheers seemed to ring out endlessly following Cincinnati’s win.
According to ESPN, Cincinnati’s coach Zac Taylor had some things to say about his team after the game. “It’s a special team that’s capable of doing special things,” he said, “We’ve said that from the get-go, whether people believed us or not,” he added. “We believed. So we’re not surprised.”
The odds seemed stacked against Cincinnati from the beginning, with them being seen as an underdog team while Kansas City was known for being a powerhouse. In fact, before the game started, the coin flip deciding who got the ball first landed in the Chiefs’ favor on tails.
Cincinnati’s all-star quarterback, Joe Burrow, said, “Usually when you lose the coin flip to those guys, you’re going home,” “Our defense really stepped up and made plays in the second half. And on offense we made plays when we had to. I thought the offensive line played really well all day. We started running the ball there at the end and that’s exciting. Big win for us.” (ESPN).
This outcome proves that sometimes all you need is hope to believe that good things will happen. And in Cincinnati’s case, that rings true. After this historic win, it’s hard to not believe in the magic of the Cincinnati Bengals.