It's been a while since dealing with the aftermath of a Cincinnati Bengals' loss on a Monday and this one obviously hurts the most. In what was a thrilling AFC Conference Championship Game, the Bengals lost 23-20 and now head home knowing they were so close to making a consecutive Super Bowl appearance.
They'll be a lot to dissect over the next few days and even weeks. The truth of the matter is, the Bengals should have won this game. As it always is when it comes to the tale of close football games, it's all about the little things. Unfortunately for the Bengals, they didn't do enough when it mattered most to leave this game victorious.
Now the Bengals can focus on the offseason ahead to do everything it takes to bolster their team to get right back into it next season. Hopefully, they'll make all the best decisions as for now, all we can do is let time do its thing. Time heals all and well, let's see what awaits the Bengals this offseason. It'll be quite an interesting one, to say the least.
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Super Bowl 2023: Travis Kelce calls Cincinnati mayor a 'jabroni' as Chiefs return Bengals' trash talk
In what will undoubtedly be the most viral moment this week, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce didn't hold back when it came to letting the football world know his thoughts on Aftab Pureval. The mayor of Cincinnati went viral after having the perfect bulletin-board tweet gift-wrapped for the Chiefs to get motivated by. Kelce channeled his inner pro wrestler when he said what he said in a drop-the-mic moment after the Chiefs won the AFC Conference Championship Game.
Inside Bengals’ Locker Room, Teammates Know Loss Wasn’t Joseph Ossai’s Fault
With all eyes on the boneheaded play defensive end Joseph Ossai made against Patrick Mahomes that sealed the deal for the Chiefs, it wasn't all his fault. In the grand scheme of things, Ossai never should have hit Mahomes when he was clearly out of bounds but to pin this loss entirely on him is silly. Even his own teammates showed him support in that it wasn't all on him and that collectively as a team, they didn't capitalize on opportunities they normally would have.
A look inside the last-minute mistakes that cost the Bengals the AFC title vs. the Chiefs
This AFC Championship Game came down to the bitter end and everything pretty much unraveled for the Bengals in the final few minutes. It's a shame because when they eventually look at the film, they could have easily had a decent lead if they took care of business before those final minutes. It's just the reality of the situation when you look at all the blown assignments, bad punts, missed tackles, and penalties. The Bengals had a meltdown in the end as it's all about focusing and finishing these kinds of games, especially when your entire season is on the line.