3. Uncharacteristic mistakes hurt the Chiefs in the fourth quarter.
The notes above marked some major positives in the game that permitted Kansas City to carry a four-point lead into the fourth quarter, but as it turned out, uncharacteristic mistakes hurt the Chiefs in the end.
The first – and the turning point in the game – was when Bengals’ linebacker Germaine Pratt jarred the ball loose from Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce early in the fourth quarter. At the time, Kansas City had a four-point lead and looked poised to add to that advantage with another productive possession. In fact, Kelce had picked up 19 yards and moved the ball to midfield before Pratt ripped the ball free.
It’s very realistic to imagine a scenario where the Chiefs add to their lead on that drive, but instead, the Bengals forced the takeaway and later turned it into a go-ahead touchdown. Essentially, the play marked perhaps a 10 or 14-point swing. It was a rare miscue for Kelce, who hadn’t fumbled in 22 games (including the playoffs) prior to Sunday’s contest.
The other mistake of note was kicker Harrison Butker’s missed 55-yard field goal attempt, which sailed wide right. It was a rare miss at that distance for Butker, who owns a 77.8 percent conversion rate on field goals of 50 or more yards since 2020. That’s the fifth-best clip in the NFL among kickers with at least 15 deep attempts, but Butker wasn’t able to add to that percentage on Sunday.
Kansas City is typically able to overcome mistakes like that, but when facing a fellow contender like Cincinnati, the margin for error is razor thin.
4. To their credit, the Bengals made enough plays in the end.
The Bengals still needed to take advantage of those miscues, however, and they did so. Cincinnati turned the fumble into a go-ahead touchdown, and they never relinquished possession of the ball following the missed field goal. Specifically, the Bengals converted two third downs on that final drive, including a 3rd-and-11 that essentially…
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