The Cincinnati Bengals came. They saw. They conquered. Against all odds, Zac Taylor and his team beat the Kansas City Chiefs to secure the AFC Championship.
They’re going to the Super Bowl. More like, THEY’RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!
Taylor felt every bit emotional and ecstatic as he should be after beating the Chiefs in overtime. This was no Bills-Chiefs thriller, though. Even when Patrick Mahomes won that oh-so-controversial coin toss, there was the lingering feeling that the Chiefs weren’t going to score on the first possession, that the Bengals could actually — like, actually, — win this game.
And they did.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor: "Our fans say 'Who Dey.' We dem."
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) January 30, 2022
Zac Taylor on standing on the stage holding the AFC trophy: "I don’t know that it will ever be as special as the moment we had right there."
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 30, 2022
When the team goes back to look at the tapes, Zac Taylor will probably get some flack for his conservative play-calling. Raise your hand if you yelled, “WHY oh WHY are you running the ball?” at least once during the game. We know we did. Mostly on first downs.
Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals are going to the Super Bowl
Still, Taylor found a way to take down the Super Bowl favorites, defeating Kansas City for the second time this year.
Andy Reid may have the edge in making catchphrases and coining witty phrases, but Taylor’s got not one, but two wins on him. Who woulda thought.
After the win, Taylor even boldly proposed a potential rematch against the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl:
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he thinks the fans will want to exorcise their Super Bowl demons with a third game against San Francisco. pic.twitter.com/07Jhwt916U
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) January 30, 2022
We like the confidence, Zac.
Cincinnati await the winner of the NFC Championship game, but in the meantime, pass those cigars around, Joe Mixon.
The Cinderella story isn’t over yet.