The Bengals defense completely shut down the Chiefs, and that’s scary for their Super Bowl opponent

The Bengals absolutely wrecked Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in the second half.

If holding the Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders to 16 and 19 points, respectively, in the first two rounds of the playoffs failed to earn the Cincinnati Bengals defense some respect, what it did in the AFC Championship Game certainly will.

Nearly shutting out the Kansas City Chiefs in the second half of a 27-24 comeback win is the type of thing championship-caliber defenses do. 

The Bengals are often lauded for their offense and the spectacular play of second-year quarterback Joe Burrow, rookie receiver Ja’Marr Chase and an ensemble of other weapons. Their defense is usually an afterthought.

Especially entering the AFC title game against the mighty Chiefs, the Bengals’ chances of winning was supposed to be about the offense lighting things up. It certainly looked necessary in the beginning, as the Chiefs went 3-for-4 scoring touchdowns on their first-half possessions. They were nearly perfect, but a failed attempt to crack the goal line as time expired prevented more points. 

That stop by the Bengals, a tackle by Eli Apple on Tyreek Hill ended up being the turning point of the game and foreshadowed what was to come. Instead of the Chiefs going into the half with a 28-10 lead, or at least 24-10, the Bengals held firm and kept the score within 11.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished the half 18-of-21 for 220 yards, three touchdowns and zero sacks. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce combined for 12 catches, 133 yards and two touchdowns. The running backs had a combined 10 rush attempts for 60 yards.

Then, the Bengals went into the locker room and, presumably, adjustments were made and speeches given. And something clicked.

In the second half, they held Mahomes to eight-of-18 passing for 55 yards, two interceptions and four sacks. Hill was held without a catch and Kelce had 40 yards. The running backs combined for eight carries for 41 yards.

The Bengals absolutely stifled one of the best offenses and one of this generation’s best quarterbacks. In the second half and overtime, the Chiefs’ seven possessions went as follows: punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, field goal, interception. 

Mahomes and the Chiefs had a chance to squeak out a win with a touchdown in the final seconds, but again stalled inside the 5-yard line. Sam Hubbard sacked Mahomes on both third and fourth down, the latter of which nearly resulted in a turnover, and pushed KC all the way back to the 26. 

After the Chiefs sent the game to overtime with a field goal, Von Bell picked off Mahomes on the first possession to set up the game-winning score.

B.J. Hill also had a pick in the game and a half sack. Trey Hendrickson had 1.5 sacks. Logan Wilson had 10 tackles. The entire unit put pressure on Mahomes and covered receivers long enough to make him hold the ball too long.

Without the play of their defense, the Bengals would not be headed for the Super Bowl. With it, they have a chance to add more hardware to the trophy case in a couple weeks.

[mm-video type=video id=01ftpc89aj0rqkwgrvqh playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ftpc89aj0rqkwgrvqh/01ftpc89aj0rqkwgrvqh-cb9cfdb21937294d1d444cf97ca81713.jpg]

[listicle id=1412166]