How many times have the Chiefs and the Bengals met in the NFL playoffs? What is their record?
For the second straight year the Chiefs and the Bengals will meet in Kansas City for the conference championship with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be hungry for revenge this weekend, as the defending AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals visit town with a second straight Conference Title on the line. These two teams share a rivalry that dates back to before the AFL-NFL merger, but we are just starting to get our first taste of this rivalry in the postseason.
Rivalry that predates the merger
The first matchup between Cincy and KC came all the way back in 1968 when both teams were part of the AFL. KC was the league powerhouse in those days and they took it to the Bengals 13-3 in the first meeting. Needless to say we can expect many more points this week.
They would meet three more times before the two leagues merged in 1970. It didn’t take long for them renew their rivalry in the new look NFL, and it was more of the same from the Chiefs. They came out on top in Cincinnati, beating the Bengals 27-19.
It goes without saying, that these teams have history. They have played each other a total of 32 times stretching all the way back to the pre Super Bowl era, with the Bengals leading the all time series 18-14, including their latest win which came this season back in Week 13. Joe Burrow led a 4th quarter comeback, and Evan McPherson sealed the game with a go ahead field goal to start the fourth quarter. Harrison Butker had a chance to tie up the game late in the game, but missed a 55 yard field goal to hand the Chiefs their final loss of the regular season.
Burrow getting the best of Mahomes
Last season these two team finally met in the playoffs for the first time in their long, and tangled history, and it was the Bengals coming out on top. The Chiefs jumped ahead courtesy of three first half passing TDs from Patrick Mahomes, but then the CIncy defense stepped up and shut down the high-powered KC offense. Burrow lead the second half comeback and the game went into overtime after Butker 44 yard field goal as time expired. After the Bengals picked off Mahomes to start the OT session, McPherson’s 31 yard field goal moved Cincinnati on to their third Super Bowl in franchise history.
Joe Burrow is one of the few quarterbacks that has a winning record against Patrick Mahomes and he will put that record on the line on Sunday in Arrowhead as we add another chapter to this historic rivalry.