Chiefs have turned the page to Bengals — away from the overtime thriller

It’s been difficult for ‘Chiefs Kingdom’ to move on from the insanity of last week, but the team knew it was necessary.

As a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, it’s OK if you still haven’t gotten over the madness of the 42-36 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Round. Keep watching the highlights on YouTube and continue reminiscing about the craziness with your friends.

What we saw Sunday was one of the most incredible games and finishes in NFL history. The only word to describe the 13-second drive that tied the score was improbable — but not if you ask the Chiefs players and coaches.

Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. emphasized to reporters during his Wednesday press conference that the team had no qualms about failing to come through at that moment.

“We have a ton of confidence in what we can do,” Brown said. “With us only needing three points at the time, we felt like we can do what it takes to put ourselves in field-goal position.”

Reflecting a similar sentiment, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire shared how confident he felt in the moments leading up to the offense taking the field.

“It’s one of those things that we all were prepared for,” Edwards-Helaire insisted. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh man, it’s 13 seconds,’ and probably thinking the game is over, turning the TV off and doing those things — but we work and execute those things. I’m looking at 13 seconds like, ‘Man, they gave us this much time to get down the field so let’s just go do it.’ We’re walking out there just as cool, calm, and collected as we possibly can be… it was either win or go home, and we knew what we needed to do.”

Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

They knew what they needed, then did it. A quick pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill set up tight end Travis Kelce to catch the pass directly, leading to the game-tying field goal.

Orlando Brown Jr. heard the mid-cadence message from Mahomes to Kelce that the world has now taken notice of — but it might have confused Brown for a second.

“All I hear is, ‘Do it Kels! Do it Kels!’ I thought I was getting chip help,” Brown laughed. “I didn’t know what was going on… so it’s just a ton of confidence, man. 15 is great — he’s very, very poised within the moment — and I have a lot of trust in him. I just want to do my job to make sure we can execute as an offense.”

It’s true: quarterback Patrick Mahomes is uniquely composed in the most significant moments. It’s even proven by science.

So when he was about when he flipped the switch from celebrating to focusing on the AFC Championship game and the Cincinnati Bengals, it’s hard to imagine anyone was surprised with his answer.

“I did when I came in Monday morning,” Mahomes stated Wednesday. “You celebrate with your family and everything for that big win that we had. It was an awesome game that we’ll remember forever, but we’re not done. We’re trying to win the AFC championship then get to the Super Bowl.”

It’d be easy for Mahomes to say that even if it wasn’t true — but head coach Andy Reid’s observation points to the team’s emphasis on focusing on the next week’s game.

“They were excited about that game, but they said ‘we still got another game we have to get ready for, so enjoy the moment, but we have to move on,’” Reid shared with reporters Wednesday. “It wasn’t just me saying it; it was Patrick, it was everybody; this thing moves fast, you have to move on to the next thing pretty quick.”

The Bills may feel like the AFC’s second-best team — but they aren’t in the AFC Championship. The Bengals are, and the Chiefs have no reason to overlook their opponent from Week 17.

“We understand this is a great football team we’re going up against — they already beat us once this year — so if we don’t give everything we have in preparation during the week, then we’re not going to win at the end of the week. So I turned the page quickly, and I’m ready to go.”

Again, no one’s going to blame you if you’re a Chiefs fan still watching every highlight you can find of that amazing game. You can continue to marvel at what your favorite team was able to accomplish.

The thriller quickly became just another postseason win for the team — and now, they’re onto Cincinnati.