Harrison Butker kept making a lonely walk to midfield after each quarter Sunday to check on the direction of the wind, which tends to swirl inside Arrowhead Stadium. He did it one last time during the 2-minute warning, when his Chiefs were trailing the Bengals by two and trying to give him a winning field-goal attempt.
When Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the offense did exactly that, helped along by a pass interference call on Cincinnati safety Daijahn Anthony on fourth down in the final minute, Butker once again headed onto the field as Chiefs fans began to roar.
Rarely does he miss. And they didn’t expect him to this time.
With preternatural calm, Butker drilled the 51-yarder as time expired, giving Kansas City the 26-25 victory.
“I try to block it out,” Butker said of the crowd noise. “It’s hard not to feed off it, but I try to block it out. What I don’t like is when you’re trotting onto the field and everyone is clapping, and I’m like, ‘The game’s not over yet. I still have to make this kick.’”
Patrick Mahomes threw for 151 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, but it was his incomplete pass intended for Rashee Rice on fourth-and-16 from the Kansas City 35 that turned out to be decisive. Anthony arrived a split-second early and moved Rice from behind with his body, and flags flew with 38 seconds remaining to keep the Chiefs alive.
The penalty came just after Kansas City had a long gain on fourth down wiped out by a penalty of its own.
The pass interference call moved the Chiefs to the Cincinnati 36, and they ran a couple more plays to bleed the clock for the big-legged Butker, who turned around and started walking off the field even before his kick went through the uprights.
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“You know, it’s one of those plays where we might benefit from that at some point this season. That’s what I told the guys,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of the pass interference call. “They’re calling it like they see it. I thought they called a very fair game, and they saw that as a penalty. So they called a penalty.”
Joe Burrow threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns, both to Andrei Iosivas, as the Bengals (0-2) came up empty against one of their biggest nemeses for the third straight time. That includes a loss to Kansas City in the AFC championship game.
Chamarri Conner returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown for the Chiefs, and big offensive tackle Wanya Morris — who had the penalty that nearly cost them in the final minute — had a touchdown reception on a day full of bizarre plays.
It was the second win for Kansas City decided on the final play after its 27-20 victory over Baltimore on opening night.
“That’s two great football games we’ve played the last two weeks, teams we played in the AFC championship game,” Mahomes said. “We’re going to clean up the mistakes, especially on the offense. It starts with me. And we’ll be a better team for it.”
The Chiefs struggled in their first game with Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely, who had nine catches for 111 yards and a score. And with Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins absent with an ailing hamstring, Burrow leaned heavily on his own tight ends — Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki and rookie Erick All Jr. — to move an offense that never got going last weekend against New England.
Sample and Gesicki accounted for most of the yardage on an opening drive that produced a field goal. A few minutes later, after Mahomes was picked by Akeem Davis-Gaither, All’s catch helped set up Iosivas’ touchdown reception.
Mahomes eventually atoned for the interception when he found Rice over the outstretched fingers of Cam Taylor-Britt for a tying 44-yard touchdown pass. But otherwise, Andy Reid’s potent offense was stuck in neutral and trailed 16-10 at the half.
All that and the hijinks were just beginning.
The Chiefs pulled ahead early in the second half, when Mahomes popped a pass to his 310-pound tackle-eligible Morris for a touchdown. The Bengals answered on fourth-and-goal when Burrow connected with Iosivas for a second time, only to see Burrow get stripped a few minutes later and Conner return the fumble 37 yards for another touchdown.
Unsportsmanlike conduct
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in the fourth quarter. Chase was stopped short of the first-down marker on second-and-11, and he appeared to be upset that a flag was not throw for a hip-drop tackle. He got right into the face of referee Alex Kemp, who threw the flag. It forced a third-and-22 at the Chiefs 45, and after a completion to Gesicki got 10 yards back, McPherson kicked the field goal that gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead.
“It’s pretty clear cut. It’s just simply abusive language toward a game official,” Kemp said. “I’m not going to repeat to you what he said, but there was no interpretation with the language that he used. Just abusive language.”
Chase refused to discuss the penalty in the postgame locker room, saying only: “It doesn’t feel great losing.”
“It’s OK to be emotional,” Taylor said. “I can’t see everything that’s said or done, so it’s better that I not comment on it.”
Injuries
Bengals: DT B.J. Hill (hamstring) left in the second quarter. DT Sheldon Rankins (hamstring) left in the fourth.
Chiefs: RB Isiah Pacheco left in the final minute and was seen in a walking boot with crutches leaving the stadium. Reid did not provide any details other than to say he would undergo tests on Monday.
