Kansas City defeats Bengals in final seconds for AFC title, will face Eagles in Super Bowl LVII

Patrick Mahomes was forced to rely on a badly damaged right ankle instead of a strong right arm as Kansas City made a desperate drive with a chance to win the AFC championship.

The all-pro quarterback, missing three wide receivers to injury and battered himself, took off on a third-down play near midfield in another gut-checking game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes was straining to reach the mark he needed and was out of bounds when he felt Joseph Ossai’s hand send him to the bench.

A mad dash, coupled with a 15-yard penalty for the last hit, was all Kansas City needed.

“I don’t think we have a cigar,” Mahomes said with a smile, “but we’ll be ready to go to the Super Bowl.”

It’s vindication for the AFC West champions, who have lost three straight to their new nemeses, including a three-point overtime loss to Cincinnati in last year’s conference title game. All of those losses were by three points.

Now, Kansas City is back in the big game.

Waiting for him is coach Andy Reid’s old team, the Eagles, in the first game of the Black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl with Mahomes and Jalen Hurts of Philadelphia. It will also feature a brother-versus-brother showdown between Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia center Jason Kelce.

“I’ve been watching it all year,” Mahomes said. “It will be a big challenge for us. But I will celebrate this first.”

Mahomes, who hurt his ankle against Jacksonville in the divisional round, threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, although he lost three wide receivers to injuries late. Marquez Valdes-Scantling led the way with 116 yards and a touchdown, while Travis Kelce — bad return and all — had seven catches for 78 yards and a score.

“It’s a tough bunch. My heart goes out to them, man, tough guys,” Reid said. “They worked hard this week. Pat and Kelce both got hit a little bit. They just kept going and big things happened.”

Kansas City can also shut the mouth of the Bengals, some of whom have taken to calling their home “Burrowhead” for Joe Burrow, who has never lost to Kansas City. Even Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval started the trash talk.

“I have some wise words for the mayor of Cincinnati,” Kelce said. “Know your role and shut your mouth, jabroni!”

Burrow, who was sacked five times and wobbly at the end, finished with 270 yards passing to go with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Bengals. Tee Higgins had six catches for 83 yards and a score.

Kansas City was able to do early on what the Buffalo Bills couldn’t in the divisional round last week: They ran roughshod over the Bengals ailing offensive line missing two starters to injury with others hampered by sore knees.

The Eagles rolled over the 49ers

Jalen Hurts can do a singalong about being able to orchestrate the kind of punishing scoring drives that sent the Eagles to the Super Bowl.

At the end of another triumph, Hurts stood on the stage on the field – while his Eagles teammates passed the NFC championship trophy – and grabbed the microphone in front of what was suddenly the biggest karaoke joint in Philadelphia. His rendition of the team fight song is a tad off-key.

Hurts may not have sung it well, but it was a memorable moment in a season full of baddies. And the Eagles can’t believe it’s over yet.

“We have a new time,” Hurts said. “A new moment and a new time.”

The Eagles, who won the Super Bowl five years ago with a different coach and quarterback, will try to do it again behind the formidable duo of Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni.

“We have to do it because we’re doing better than anybody in the NFC this year,” Sirianni said.

Hurts had a modest game by postseason standards in which he was an MVP finalist. He was 15-of-25 passing for 121 yards and running for 39, improving to 16-1 as a starter this season. The Eagles (16-3) missed two games with a sprained right shoulder.

Hurts sat alone in his wardrobe all in purple and took a few puffs of a cigar as the Eagles celebrated around him. He knew there was one more game to win.

“I never knew how far,” Hurts said, “but I never said it couldn’t be done.”

Miles Sanders ran for two touchdowns and linebacker Haason Reddick made a hit that forced 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy out of the game with an elbow injury. Reddick also recovered a fumble by Purdy’s replacement, Josh Johnson, who later suffered a concussion.

That forced Purdy back into the game, but the injury was clearly a factor as the 49ers all but gave up the game, despite still having a couple of scores. Purdy said he couldn’t throw the ball more than 10 yards after his elbow hurt.

Philadelphia police greased traffic and light poles in what proved again to be a futile attempt to slow the post-game revelry. The city now has its beloved Birds in the Super Bowl just three months after the Philadelphia Phillies reached the World Series.

“When you go inside the room [practice facility]”There’s always that picture at the end of the 2017 NFC championship game, and it’s just electric in the stadium,” said Sirianni, who was hired two years ago to replace the Eagles’ Super Bowl champion coach, Doug Pederson. special that we have.”

The game broke down within minutes and Philadelphia’s K’Von Wallace and San Francisco’s Trent Williams were ejected for their roles in the brawl. Williams grabbed Wallace from behind and slammed him to the ground.

The moment only seemed to shock Eagles fans as he immediately waved his green towel and went wild as confetti surrounded him.

“We have one more game for the rest of our lives,” Sanders said.

The Super Bowl is February 12 in Glendale, Ariz.