Butker scores 51-yard game-winning field goal for KC after Bengals safety penalty keeps Chiefs alive

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Harrison Butker continued to walk alone to midfield after every quarter Sunday to check 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 trailed the Bengals by two points and were trying to give him a game-winning field goal attempt.

When Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the offense did just that, aided by a pass interference call on Cincinnati safety Daijahn Anthony on fourth down in the final minute, Butker headed down the field again as the Chiefs fans began to roar.

He rarely misses his target. And this time, no one expected him to.

With preternatural calm, Butker kicked the 51-yard field goal as time expired, giving Kansas City the 26-25 victory.

“I try to tune out the crowd noise,” Butker said of crowd noise. “It’s hard not to feed off of it, but I try to tune it out. What I don’t like is when I’m running out there and everyone’s cheering, and I’m like, ‘The game’s not over yet. I’ve got to shoot again.’”

Patrick Mahomes threw for 151 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, but it was his incomplete pass to Rashee Rice on fourth-and-16 from the Kansas City 35-yard line that proved decisive. Anthony arrived a split second early and moved Rice from behind with his body, and the flags flew with 38 seconds left to keep the Chiefs alive.

The penalty came just after Kansas City had a long fourth-down gain negated by a penalty of its own.

The pass interference call moved the Chiefs to the Cincinnati 36, and they ran a few more plays to waste time on the big Butker, who turned and started to walk off the field before his kick even went through the uprights.

“You know, it’s one of those plays that we could capitalize on at some point in the season. That’s what I told the guys,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of the pass interference call. “They call it what they see it. I think they called a very fair play, and they saw it 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) fell to one of their biggest foes 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 took the penalty that nearly cost them the game in the final minute — had a touchdown on a day full of bizarre plays.

It was Kansas City’s second win decided on the final play after its 27-20 victory over Baltimore on opening night.

“We’ve played two great football games in the last two weeks, against teams we played in the AFC Championship Game,” Mahomes said. “We’re going to fix the mistakes, especially on offense. That starts with me. And we’re going to be a better team because of it.”

The Chiefs struggled in their first game with Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely, who had nine receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. And with Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins out with a hamstring issue, Burrow relied heavily on his own tight ends — Drew Sample, Mike Gesicki and rookie Erick All Jr. — to power an offense that never got going last weekend against New England.

Sample and Gesicki were the main contributors on the opening drive, which resulted in a field goal. Minutes later, after Mahomes was intercepted by Akeem Davis-Gaither, All’s reception helped set up Iosivas’ touchdown reception.

Mahomes finally atoned for his interception by finding Rice over Cam Taylor-Britt’s outstretched fingers for a 44-yard touchdown pass. But otherwise, Andy Reid’s high-powered offense remained stalled and trailed 16-10 at halftime.

All this and the shenanigans were just beginning.

The Chiefs took the lead early in the second half when Mahomes threw a pass to Morris, his 310-pound tackle, for a touchdown. The Bengals answered on fourth-and-goal when Burrow connected with Iosivas for a second time, but Burrow was stripped a few minutes later and Conner returned the ball 37 yards for another touchdown.

Evan McPherson’s fourth field goal gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead with 5:12 left, and their defense gave them the ball back. But the Chiefs forced a punt with 2:59 left, giving Mahomes and his teammates the chance to decide the outcome of the game.

Unsportsmanlike conduct

Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct in the fourth quarter. Chase was stopped short of the first-down marker on a second-and-11, and he appeared upset that a flag wasn’t thrown for a hip tackle. He got right in the face of referee Alex Kemp, who threw the flag. That forced a third-and-22 at the Chiefs 45-yard line, and after a completion to Gesicki who recovered 10 yards, McPherson kicked the field goal that gave the Bengals a 25-23 lead.

“It’s pretty clear. It’s just abusive language towards a match official,” Kemp said. “I’m not going to repeat what he said, but there was no interpretation in the language he used. Just abusive language.”

Chase declined to discuss the penalty in the postgame locker room, saying only: “It’s not nice to lose.”

“It’s okay to be emotional,” Taylor said. “I can’t see everything that’s being said or done, so I’d better not comment.”

Injuries

Bengals: DT BJ Hill (hamstring) left in the second quarter. DT Sheldon Rankins (hamstring) left in the fourth.

Chiefs: RB Isiah Pacheco left the field at the last minute and was seen in a walking boot and on crutches leaving the stadium. Reid provided no details other than to say he would undergo testing Monday.

To be continued

Cincinnati returns home to face Washington on Sept. 23.

Kansas City travels to Atlanta on Sunday night.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl