Harrison Butker kept walking to midfield after each quarter on Sunday to check the wind direction, which often changes inside Arrowhead Stadium. He did this one last time during the 2-minute warning when his team, the Chiefs, was down by two points to the Bengals and trying to set him up for a game-winning field goal.
When Patrick Mahomes and the offense managed to give him that chance, thanks to a pass interference call on Bengals safety Daijahn Anthony on fourth down in the final minute, Butker went onto the field as Chiefs fans began cheering loudly.
He hardly ever misses, and they didn’t expect him to miss this time either.
With a steady demeanor, Butker kicked the 51-yard field goal as time ran out, securing a 26-25 win for Kansas City.
“I try to block it out,” Butker said about 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. However, his incomplete pass to Rashee Rice on fourth-and-16 from the Kansas City 35 was a key moment. Anthony arrived a split-second early and bumped Rice, leading to a penalty flag with 38 seconds left, which kept the Chiefs’ hopes alive.
The penalty came right after Kansas City had a long gain on fourth down negated by a penalty of its own.
The pass interference call moved the Chiefs to the Cincinnati 36-yard line. They ran a few more plays to use up the clock, setting up Butker, who had already started walking off the field even before his kick went through the uprights.
“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 about 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 passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns, both to Andrei Iosivas, but the Bengals (0-2) lost again to one of their toughest opponents for the third time in a row. This includes a previous loss to Kansas City in the AFC championship game.
Chamarri Conner scored a touchdown for the Chiefs by returning a fumble 37 yards, and offensive tackle Wanya Morris — who had a penalty that almost cost them in the final minute — caught a touchdown pass during a game full of unusual moments.
This was the second time Kansas City won a game on the final play, following their 27-20 win over Baltimore in the season opener.
“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. With Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins out with a sore hamstring, Burrow relied heavily on his tight ends — Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki, and rookie Erick All Jr. — to advance an offense that struggled the previous week against New England.
Sample and Gesicki helped move the ball on the opening drive, which resulted in a field goal. Shortly after, after Mahomes was intercepted by Akeem Davis-Gaither, All’s catch set up Iosivas’ touchdown catch.
Mahomes later made up for the interception by throwing a 44-yard touchdown pass to Rice, despite the Chiefs trailing 16-10 at halftime and struggling on offense.
The second half started with more unusual plays. The Chiefs went ahead early when Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Morris, who is normally a tackle.
The Bengals responded on fourth-and-goal with another touchdown pass from Burrow to Iosivas, but then Burrow lost the ball and Conner returned it 37 yards for a Chiefs touchdown.
Evan McPherson’s fourth field goal gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead with 5:12 left, and their defense gave them another chance with the ball. But the Chiefs forced a punt with 2:59 remaining, giving Mahomes and the team a chance to win the game.
