5 stats that told the story of the Bengals' AFC Championship Game loss

The Cincinnati Bengals' season is over after they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game. This loss is going to sting for a long time because this really felt like Cincinnati's year.

From the rumble in the jungle during the Wild Card game to blowing out the Bills in snowy Buffalo to getting to face a hobbled Patrick Mahomes in a rematch of last year's AFC title game, it felt like this was Cincinnati's season.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

The Chiefs will be repping the AFC in the Super Bowl while the Bengals are now in offseason mode.

Let's take a look at five stats that decided this game.

All stats courtesy of ESPN

5. Bengals had 0 punts inside the 20

This might not seem like a big thing but pinning opponents deep is an underrated part of the game. The Chiefs were able to pin Cincinnati's offense deep three times, as Tommy Townsend had three punts downed inside the 20.

Rookie punter Drue Chrisman did not have a good game and failed to pin the Chiefs within their own 20 a single time. Flipping the field is a very important part of the game and Chrisman never put Kansas City in a position where they needed to put together long drives. That proved pivotal.