The Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl! It still doesn’t feel real typing that but here we are, Bengals fans — This team, after winning just four games last year and two games the year before, is going to the Super Bowl.
Let’s check out some takeaways.
Eerily similar to Week 17
This game was nearly identical to the Week 17 victory when Cincinnati took down the Chiefs and did so with a dominant second half. The Chiefs got up to a 21-10 lead at the half and could have been up 28-10 but decided to get cute at the end of the half and it resulted in zero points.
That felt like a turning point for both sides and it was. KC went on to score only three points in the second half once again, which is exactly what happened in Week 17. The Chiefs dismantled the stripes’ defense early but then the Bengals D woke up in the second half and the Kansas City offense could barely get anything going.
This is proof once again never to count this team out. They trailed 21-3 to the team that won the AFC the past two years and never backed down. Now, here they are, on their way to the Super Bowl.
Offensive line held its own
After getting sacked a record-breaking nine times last week, the offensive line looked much better in Kansas City against the Chiefs’ D-line. Burrow was sacked just one time and scrambled for a few crazy plays to keep plays alive.
Considering how poorly the unit did a week ago, allowing one sack should be considered a massive win. Now the question is — Can this unit hold up in the Super Bowl against a solid defensive line (both teams have a good d-line)?
Burrow proves he’s elite
Burrow has done something that few quarterbacks have been able to do: A) Get to the Super Bowl in his second season and B) Lead the Bengals to said Super Bowl. The kid is special and if you didn’t realize it before this game, you definitely know it now.
The offense looked rattled by the crowd noise early but by the second half, it was an entirely different offense. I mentioned some of the insane runs by Burrow to keep drives alive but all in all, he continued to find open guys, even without C.J. Uzomah, who went down early.
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No one thought the Bengals would get to the Super Bowl this year and we couldn’t blame people for not thinking they stood a chance. Burrow is the reason this team is here though and he’s the reason they have a legitimate chance to win Super Bowl LVI and be crowned Super Bowl champions for the first time in franchise history.