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    5 Crazy Stats About the Bengals and Chiefs’ Epic Rivalry

    No matter the records or site, the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals only play close games.

    Including playoffs, the Bengals still lead the series 3-2 when Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes are the starting quarterbacks (Kansas City won last season when Burrow was out injured).

    But since losing the first three Burrow-Mahomes matchups, the Chiefs have bounced back to win the last two meetings.

    Below are five stats that embody how epic the Bengals-Chiefs rivalry has become.

    Average Margin of Victory: 2.6

    All five Burrow-Mahomes matchups have been decided by three points or fewer. Sunday’s latest installment was a two-point game after a drive-extending pass interference on fourth-and-16 set up the game-winning field goal for Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker.

    The cumulative score in these matchups is Bengals 133, Chiefs 128.

    Games With Winning Score in Final 5 Seconds: 4

    Every game has seen the game-winning score come in the fourth quarter. In addition, four of them have been decided by a game-winning field on either the final play or within the final five seconds:

    • 2021 Week 17: CIN FG as time expired
    • 2021 AFC Championship: CIN FG in OT
    • 2022 Week 13: CIN TD with 9:00 in 4th qtr
    • 2022 AFC Championship: KC FG with 0:03 left
    • 2024 Week 2: KC FG as time expired

    So not only have the games been close, virtually all of them have come down to either Burrow or Mahomes leading a game-winning drive to seize the win at the end.

    Fourth Quarter Lead Changes: 6

    Sunday’s game saw three fourth-quarter lead changes and five in the second half. But comebacks have been the norm in this series, with neither team enjoying a lead.

    In fact, four of the five games have seen a second-half comeback, including the Bengals’ 21-3 comeback in the 2021 AFC Championship Game, which tied the largest ever in a Conference Championship Game.

    On Sunday, the Chiefs trailed for 34:36, tied for the sixth-most in a win with Mahomes at quarterback, including the playoffs.

    TD-Int Ratio: 3-1

    Both quarterbacks have raised their games, combining for 21 pass TDs and seven interceptions in their head-to-head matchups. Burrow has actually slightly outperformed Mahomes, throwing 11 TDs to three interceptions, while Mahomes has 10 Pass TDs to four interceptions.

    The two stars are also separated by a whisker in completion percentage in their matchups. Burrow is completing 69% of his passes in his games against Mahomes, while Mahomes is completing 68% of his passes.

    Fourth Quarter TDs for Chiefs Offense: 0

    Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense are typically inevitable at the end of games. And to be fair, Mahomes has led the game-winning drive in each of the last two matchups against Burrow.

    However, the Chiefs’ offense has not scored a single fourth-quarter TD in any of the five Burrow-Mahomes games. In fact, their only fourth-quarter TD in those matchups came on Sunday, when DB Chamarri Conner had a 38-yard fumble return to give the Chiefs the lead.

    As a result, the Chiefs have scored 82 points in the first half of these games, compared to 46 in the second half and overtime.

    Those late-game struggles haven’t made a difference in the last two wins, with Kansas City slipping by with better late-game execution and discipline. But Lou Anarumo continues to be one of the very few defensive play-callers capable of stymying Mahomes for any stretch of time in a game.

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