Josh Kingsley
Quick announcement: this column has the highest amount of preparation to date. Let me be clear about something real quick: I take these seriously and prepare. Most of the time it is a running One Note page in bullet form that I add to as the weekend and game progresses. I do have a running list of topics and I attempt to line them appropriately. A great example of that is the Christmas movie spot after week 15. I planned to cover that topic from the beginning and it was about picking the week. Sometimes a memory pops and I run that direction –> like the Packers chili cinnamon roll thing. However, sometimes a topic or event pops up in the middle of everything, and I feel compelled to pivot and address.
This week is a combination. We obviously watched a big game, and it produced plenty of angles. I went to the game, so much to cover there as well. Plus, then Tom Brady retired, so I have thoughts on top of thoughts. The last thing in mind is Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino’s venerable 1992 film. I love many Tarantino films and this is a top pick. Other faves include Inglorious Bastards (my #1), True Romance, and, of course, Pulp Fiction. I watched Reservoir Dogs for the first time in over a decade last week, and decided to Tarantino jump around on this one. So I listed my topics to cover and rearranged. Hope y’all like it.
(Quick note: if this starts to get too long I am going to Kill Bill it, and make a 2-part-er)
Here we go!!
Really, Brady
I pulled my van off the 80 in Des Moines Saturday afternoon. The road trip to K.C. was chugging right along and the crew was hungry. A restaurant search and debate landed us in the Grumpy Goat Tavern in West Des Moines, which I fully recommend. The mission was clear: grab a bite, talk about the game, and get back on the road. We no more than get out of the vehicle and my buddy comments that Tom Brady is retiring. Adam Schefter reported it, and we assumed it was true. We entered the GGT, and, sure enough, it’s on all the TVs not showing Iowa State’s beat down of Mizzou.
About 10 minutes after sitting down I make the comment that his retirement story is the maddest I have ever been at Tom Brady. That killed the conversation at the table, and I suddenly had 3 sets of eyes on me waiting for an explanation. My reasoning was simple: it was one of the 3 biggest weekends in football, my team was playing, and all the coverage was an eliminated 44 year old. Why does this weekend have to be about him? My wife rolled her eyes and called me ridiculous — common occurrence — and my friends looked at me confused.
Not Ideal
The 2021 season’s AFC Championship game ended with the Cincinnati Bengals hoisting the Lamar Hunt Trophy. An overtime field goal by Evan McPherson punched a Super Bowl ticket. This was all after the Chiefs led 21-to-3, fell behind, tied as regulation time expired, won the coin toss and took the ball first in OT. The Chiefs were winning that game. Until the 3rd play of OT –> which was a Mahomes INT.
The fallout went whirlwind the moment the Bengals won. Arrowhead was in shock. The parking lot, which was a blast a few hours earlier, was quiet and tense. We all methodically got in our vehicles and headed directly for the nearest exit. I jumped in the closest line, which ended up not being a true exit path. By the time I realized as much I was 4th in line with a dozen cars behind me and we were blazing a path to get on the road outbound. For the record there was no one directing traffic in before the game, or after. The 3 vehicles in front of me alternated in without incident.
My Incident Sidebar
My turn came up and the car on the road decided this make shift exit group should stop. The SUV attempted to crowd, so my city moved employed and stuck my nose into my spot. The lady driving held up and let me in. Then her husband climbs halfway out his window and yells for us to roll the window down. Fine, we do. He proceeds to inform us that we are getting in because his wife is nice, but if he was driving we would not. Like I said there was a tension. I rolled my window back up and drove. Nothing good comes from replying, and I know it was the loss talking.
My wife took the moment to inform me of the verbal repercussions that would result if I pulled that. I assume that guy caught the business end of his wife’s appreciation level, but for the record: I can drive in Chicago and he lives in Johnson County, I take whatever spot I want. I also let cars in from multiple makeshift lines like my own. We all just wanted to go home.
Why Are We Here?
How did this loss happen? What was the reason and/or event that caused the loss? We as humans require such detail to provide closure. The unfortunate reality is the AFC Championship game provides little to no closure. It many ways it just doesn’t make sense. Kansas City born comedian Chris Porter has a great bit about men and emotions, which I may have shared before. It starts at 1:17, but the real point part starts at 1:58. That is the best way I can describe Arrowhead after the OT Field Goal. However, by the time sports TV and social media finished doing their thing Sunday we gained 3 potential places to put all the blame:
- That play at the end of the first half
- The lack of running game or other adjusted plan in the second half
- An NFL conspiracy to get the Bengals in the Super Bowl
There are shades, nuance, etc., but it mostly boils to this:
Conspiracy
I read more than one post on social media speculating things as far as Goodell himself hitting the locker room at halftime like a the warden in The Longest Yard. The idea here is the NFL has something to gain by the Bengals making the Super Bowl. This sounds like a joke and that’s because it is. Anyone who actually believes this needs a hobby. The problem is posts with a level of sincerity in the message. I have a love-hate with the Internet, and it’s stuff like this. The NFL does not fix games like this, and I’ll eat crow and backtrack if ever definitely proven.
I write all this the day multiple coaches go public about bonuses to lose games. We are walking a line, but it’s affecting gambling, not the Super Bowl. Moving on.
Lack of Running Game in the Second Half
This is the place where I somewhat reside. Clyde Edward-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon were rolling in the first half when the Chiefs scored all their TDs. The balanced attack was lethal. Most of the second half featured Patrick Mahomes dropping back under duress and chucking the ball to covered receivers. Mahomes went from near perfect… to near horrible, so something happened. A bad game plan is a reasonable culprit. Unfortunately, it sounds like an easy fix, which leaves a bad taste of squandered opportunity. Speaking of squandered…
End of First Half
The most scrutinized and blamed sequence is the last play of the first half. Kansas City received the kickoff with 1:05 left and marched down the field to the Cincinnati 15. The Bengals and Eli Apple gifted a first and goal with 9 seconds and no timeouts via PI in the end zone. Mahomes threw incomplete leaving 5 seconds on the clock. The play in question was an alleged RPO to Hill on the left that ended with Eli Apple making an incredible defensive stop. End of half, no points. Chiefs 21, Bengals 10, and heading to the locker room. One of the Cincinnati fans in my section looked at me said, “That was stupid, Bengals will win by 3.”
I have to admit: I loved the call to go for the TD knockout, and I scoffed at the Bengals fan. Andy Reid and the Chiefs have taken plenty of guff for getting conservative and not going for kill shots. Scoring a TD to go up 28-10 at half counts as a kill shot. My analogy is to picture a drowning enemy. Compassion is saving, passiveness is watching them drown, and aggression is stepping on their head to finish the job. Running a play over kicking a FG was risky. So was rolling Henne out to the right on 4-and-1 vs Cleveland! I view both as the same high risk/reward approach. You have to get 1 yard now.
This is one of my favorite all time videos. Start at 2:08. That question is how I feel about that play.
Or, There is Option 4
There is an option 4: maybe the Bengals are good. This does much less to explain away the loss via mistakes, but it does answer the question. Joe Burrow is solid before schedule in his second year in the league. The Bengals D was impenetrable in the second half. Zach Wilson and staff were on point with adjustments. There is a world where the exact opposite is not also true about the Chiefs counterparts. I still believe the Chiefs are the better team, but there is not a way to prove that. This is sudden death and the Bengals were deadlier on January 30, 2022.
This is not only the place I chose to live, but also what I consider reality. It sucks, it leaves many questions, but it is final.
My Dumbest Thought in Recent Memory
That first Chiefs TD was beautiful to watch. I was sitting in the south end zone, and that play happened in the north. It was a great view to watch the play develop and Mahomes hit Hill for the score. The Bengals drove down the field on the next series and made it to the red zone. If felt a vibration in my pocket as the Bengals lined up for 3rd and 10 from the K.C. 14. I looked at my phone to find a push notification from the NFL app telling me to watch the laser TD throw. My immediate thought: the Bengals scored a TD, and I was watching a tape delay. From Arrowhead.
Next thought: I’m an idiot and need to put down my phone. Final thought: document and tell the world about it in the next column.
Kill Bill lives– See you next week with the other half.
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne
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You can also follow Josh on Twitter at: @mkechiefsfans
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