Four takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs’ 26-25 win over the Cincinnati Bengals

Another Kansas City Chiefs outing against the Cincinnati Bengals, another instant classic matchup between two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

In the last game between Kansas City and Cincinnati, it was the home team that came out on top. After a fierce battle and some late-game twists, the Chiefs managed to prevail and goal scorer Harrison Butker scored the winning field goal to make his team 2-0 on the year.

With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Sunday’s game.

Things took a while to get going for Kansas City on Sunday, as the team was outgained by an average of 2.2 yards per play. With 4.3 yards per clip and 3.5 yards per pass, Andy Reid and his teammates committed to running the ball and took up a lot of time on their first possession. Near the end zone, running back Isiah Pacheco was stopped three times and Reid chose not to pass back to Carson Steele. Choosing a field goal over a touchdown attempt on fourth down was a poor decision.

Speaking of bad decisions, the Chiefs’ second drive lasted just one play. Mahomes targeted tight end Travis Kelce, who was ultimately intercepted by linebacker Akiem Davis-Gaither. That set up the Bengals for their first touchdown of the game. Mahomes and Kansas City rebounded with a touchdown on their next possession, but a slow start made things difficult in the first half.

In the Bengals’ Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots, running back Rhamondre Stevenson carried the ball 25 times for 120 yards and a touchdown. Much of that production came after contact, further highlighting just how poor Cincinnati’s defensive efforts were. Ahead of this weekend’s game, Zack Eisen of Kansas City Chiefs on SI I wondered if committing to running and following a regular Pacheco regimen might give me some success in the second week. It certainly did.

In the first quarter alone, the Chiefs attempted 10 carries and gave up seven to Pacheco. The veteran running back had 29 yards on those carries, though his average was dragged down by short-yardage stops. In total, Kansas City gave up 32 yards. The rushing is led by Pacheco, Mahomes, Steele, Kelce and Xavier Worthy. The 149 total yards is enough of a factor for an overall performance.

In my preview for this game, I listed Mike Gesicki as a player to watch for Cincinnati. After a quiet Week 1, it made sense for him to step up on offense. He certainly did (seven receptions for 91 yards), but the rest of the tight end room also worked. Veteran Drew Sample and rookie Erick All Jr. also combined for 60 yards. Social media seemed to pin a lot of the blame on linebacker Nick Bolton on the air. He deserves a fair share of the blame, absolutely, but there’s a lot to be done.

Another thought on defense: Kansas City’s supporting pieces at cornerback came back down to earth after a solid Week 1. Nazeeh Johnson was lost on an Andrei Iosivas touchdown, Watson gave up a 47-yard pass in the third quarter, and Iosivas scored on another play with Joshua Williams failing to contain him. Trent McDuffie played well overall and there’s no time to panic, but the depth volatility is worth watching.

Earlier this weekend, my colleague Mark Van Sickle wrote that the Chiefs could actually end this rivalry with Cincinnati with a win. After all, last season the Bengals missed the playoffs, and another win would have given Kansas City even more success against their two-time conference title-winning opponents. That’s an entirely fair view. In this writer’s opinion, however, the feud was always going to continue regardless of Sunday’s outcome.

It’s impossible to predict what the rest of the season will hold for either team. That said, the Chiefs are still holding their title hopes and the Bengals have shown they (still) have what it takes to seriously challenge them. The only question now is whether Joe Burrow and company can climb out of an 0-2 hole and still make the playoffs. That’s a lot easier said than done, so maybe the rivalry is on hold.

Side note: The performance of Kansas City’s left tackle was worth mentioning. There wasn’t enough room to add an analysis here, but it’s coming soon.

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