Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) and Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (28) motion for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the third quarter of an NFL division round football game, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Joshua Bessex)
By David Brandt
The Kansas City Chiefs got good news Sunday, learning they'll host the AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals next weekend instead of playing at a neutral site.
One problem for the Chiefs? They have to play the Bengals.
Cincinnati is on a 10-game winning streak after an impressive 27-10 road victory over the Buffalo Bills on a snow-covered field in Sunday's NFL divisional round. Joe Burrow threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while Joe Mixon ran for 105 yards and a TD.
In Sunday’s nightcap, San Francisco held on to beat the Dallas Cowboys 19-12. Rookie Brock Purdy continued his improbable run leading the 49ers, throwing for 214 yards, playing mistake-free ball and leaning on the team's stellar defense.
That sets up the two conference championship games on Jan. 29: The Philadelphia Eagles will host the 49ers before the Chiefs host the Bengals. The winners will play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 12.
The Bengals haven't lost since Halloween and are trying to make it back to the Super Bowl for a second straight year. The Chiefs will be playing in their fifth straight AFC championship game.
The AFC title game would have been played in Atlanta next weekend if the Bills had beaten the Bengals, under a rule adjustment approved by NFL owners. The league decided on the first of its kind conference championship neutral site setting because the Bills (13-3) finished the season a half-game behind the Chiefs (14-3) after their game at Cincinnati was canceled on Jan. 2 when Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field.
The Chiefs and Eagles didn’t have to play during last weekend's wild-card round because the top-seeded team in each conference received a bye to the divisional round.
Neither team looked rusty.
The Chiefs did have some nervous moments against the Jags, particularly after Mahomes limped off the field with a sprained ankle in the second quarter. Henne, a 37-year-old backup, filled in admirably while the former MVP was out and threw a touchdown pass to push the Chiefs ahead 17-7.
Mahomes returned in the second half and did enough to lead the Chiefs to the win. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yard and two touchdowns with no interceptions. His health status will be a closely watched storyline during the upcoming days.
The Eagles had no problem rolling over the Giants, jumping to a 28-0 lead by halftime. Philadelphia had more touchdowns (four) in the first half than New York had first downs (three).
The relatively drama-free weekend was much different than last week's wild-card round, when no lead was safe.
The Bills blew a 17-point advantage before recovering to beat Miami. That narrow escape came less than 24 hours after the Jaguars overcame a 27-point deficit against the Los Angeles Chargers in one of the most stunning rallies in playoff history.
Multiple games were decided in the final minutes. The Bengals beat the Ravens 24-17 after Sam Hubbard returned Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley’s fumble 98 yards for a tiebreaking touchdown in the fourth quarter, a surprising turn of events after the Ravens were poised to take the lead.
Here are some other things to know during the postseason:
WHAT'S THE UPCOMING SCHEDULE?
SUNDAY, JAN. 29
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles, 3 p.m. EST, Fox
Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs, 6:30 p.m. EST, CBS
WHAT'S THE FORMAT FOR THE PLAYOFFS?
This is the third straight year of the current playoff format, which includes the top seven teams from both the AFC and the NFC.
The four division winners in both conferences automatically get the top four seeds, regardless of record, and then the top three teams with the best record that didn't win their division are the wild-card selections. That's why it's fairly common for a wild-card selection to have a better record — but worse playoff seeding — than a team that finished as a division winner.
The No. 1-seeded team in each conference gets a bye into the second round — that's the Chiefs and Eagles — while No. 2 hosts No. 7, No. 3 hosts No. 6 and No. 4 hosts No. 5 during the wild-card weekend.
The NFL re-seeds teams after each playoff round. That means no matter how the bracket started, the lowest-seeded team always travels to the highest-seeded team.
There are four rounds to the playoffs: The wild-card round finished last weekend, the divisional round is this weekend, the conference championship games are Jan. 29 and the Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona, at the home stadium of the Arizona Cardinals.
AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.
These are the headlines you Need2Know.
* **Damage Control at the White House:** President Trump will meet with his cabinet today after widespread criticism of his comments spread following Monday's joint meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. To appease his base,Trump declared yesterday that he simply misspoke during the presser--but some critics find that hard to believe.
* **Manafort Goes to Court:** The case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is moving forward--despite a denial of his team's request for a change of location. Manafort's team asked for the trial to be moved from Alexandria to Roanoke, believing that Alexandria's more liberal base would be less forgiving and attract more press.
* **University Doctor Under Fire:** A former Ohio State University doctor is accused of molesting student athletes after complaints surfaced from several ex-wrestlers--one of whom condemned is Congressman Jim Jordan for ignoring the allegations.
* **Vacancies at Comic-Con:** The 2018 Comic-Con kicks of in San Diego tonight. But some of the usual attendees will be missing: network HBO, the Avengers, X-Men and Deadpool will be among the absent guests.
* **American League Still Number One:** The American league clung to its title as reigning champ after it defeated the National League for the sixth straight year during last night's MLB All-Star game.
Cheddar Big News' Hena Doba gives us the details.
The golf superstar signed with TaylorMade back in 2017 but was out of the game that year due to a back surgery and a reckless driving incident. Since then, things have turned around for Woods. He's preparing to play in the British Open in just a few days and his "ball striking is terrific, his putting is great, and I think he’s in a great position right now to challenge,” says TaylorMade CEO David Abeles.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
Trump Faces Bipartisan Backlash
Russian Woman Charged With Election Meddling
Hawaii's 'Lava Bomb' Injures Tourists
Deadly Fire Near Yosemite National Park Doubles
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
*President Trump meets with Russian President Putin in Helsinki, Finland, days after the indictment of 12 Russian operatives for trying to disrupt the 2016 election.
*A federal judge blasts the HHS giving them one more week to reunite 2,000 families at the border after the administration missed the initial deadline.
*Protests erupted in Chicago over the weekend after a popular barber was shot and killed by the police.
*Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber won Wimbledon titles over the weekend. And France took home the World Cup.
Cheddar's Hope King gives us the details.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
*President Trump is in England preparing for a joint news conference with Theresa May. While the duo dined last night, The Sun newspaper published a sit-down interview with the president where he criticized May’s handling of Brexit. Trump warned trade deals with England could be nixed if Brexit isn’t handled properly.
*FBI agent Peter Strzok was removed from working on the Hillary Clinton email probe and the Trump-Russia investigation after text messages were discovered in which he criticized the president.
*Stormy Daniels made an encore appearance at the same strip club she was arrested at the night prior.
*A Kansas City water park will not reopen after a 10-year-old boy died on a water slide.
*Serena Williams beat Julia Görges of Germany yesterday to reach her 10th Wimbledon final.
Cheddar Big News's Jill Wagner gives us the details.
The Olympic gold medalist hosts “Wedding Cake Championship,” a new show on Food Network, with longtime friend and fellow figure skater Johnny Weir. While the new gig is worlds different from their athletic careers, there are still some similarities. “The competition part of it was fun,” Lipinski tells Cheddar.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
* Confusion at the NATO summit after President Trump said allies will add billions of dollars to defense spending. But French president Emmanuel Macron rebuffed those claims.
* Stormy Daniels was arrested after an alleged misdemeanor at a Columbus, Ohio, strip club. Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, has also been working to reunite families at the southern border.
* The U.S. Senate voted yesterday on a non-binding resolution giving it a say on what tariffs are levied and against whom.
* New evidence prompted the Department of Justice reopened the case of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was killed in 1955 in Money, Miss.
* John Schnatter, founder and former CEO of Papa John’s, has resigned his chairman role after a racially-charged comment on a conference call.
* Americans made it to both the men’s and women’s Wimbledon semifinals, the first time since 2009.
Cheddar Big News' Jill Wagner tells us the latest.
These are the headlines you Need2Know:
The NATO Summit got off to a heated start as President Trump already criticized member countries for not paying their fair share of defense spending.
The Trump administration also missed its promised deadline to reunite dozens of migrant families.
A natural gas leak in Sun Prairie, Wisc., turned deadly when an explosion erupted for several hours.
Brett Kavanaugh, the president's pick for the open Supreme Court seat, met on Capitol Hill with the vice president and senators yesterday.
The NFL Players Association is challenging the anti-kneeling policy, which requires players to remain in the locker room if they choose to protest the national anthem.
Hurricane Chris makes its way up the East Coast, but shouldn't make a major impact on land.
Cheddar Big News' Jill Wagner gives us the details.
France kicked Belgium out of the championship tournament on Tuesday. Some of the team's success so far can be attributed to its coach, Didier Deschamps, who captained the 1998 title-winning team and can convey that experience to his players, says Jeffrey Marcus, publisher of The Banter.
After Croatia's long-fought match against Russia on Saturday, the team may not have the stamina to beat England this week. "Croatia's had to play two very long 120-minute games followed by penalty shootouts," says Mike Murphy, deputy editor at Quartz. "That'll work in England's favor."
