‘Better send those refunds;’ Bengals and Chiefs battle in AFC Championship for 2nd straight season

ORCHARD PARK, NY — For the second year in a row, it will be the Cincinnati Bengals playing the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Bengals defeat Chiefs for third time in less than 1 year with balanced attack

The Bengals won last season in overtime, 27-24, advancing to Super Bowl LVI.

The two teams met on December 4 in the regular season where Cincinnati won, 27-24, at Paycor Stadium.

How did the two teams get to this year’s AFC Championship game?

Cincinnati won at Buffalo, 27-10, Sunday afternoon while Kansas City beat Jacksonville, 27-20, Saturday at home.

>>More than 50,000 tickets sold for AFC title game in Atlanta

The AFC Championship game would have been played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia had the Bills beaten the Bengals at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York.

More than 50,000 tickets were sold in the first 24 hours for a potential AFC championship game in Atlanta, the NFL said Friday.

But Cincinnati had other ideas.

“You better send those refunds,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said after the game in a postgame interview with CBS Sports sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.

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He said the Bengals got “a complete game from everybody.”

“Offense, defense, special teams,” Burrow said to Wolfson. “Domination from start to finish. That’s what we expected. Job is not finished, we got another big one next week on the road. Excited for it.”

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Burrow told Wolfson Sunday’s game AFC Championship at Kansas City, “it’s going to be a fun one.”

“Two of the top guys in the league, two of the top teams in the league,” he said. “Great defenses, great overall teams, great coaches. It’s going to be great atmosphere. Excited to play in it.”

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One of the questions surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs will be the health regarding Kansas City Chiefs quarter Patrick Mahomes. He suffered a right high ankle sprain in Saturday’s divisional playoff win over the Jaguars. Back-up quarterback Chad Henne came in in relief and led Kansas City on a 98-yard touchdown drive.

Mahomes underwent an MRI exam Sunday to better determine the extent of the injury, the person told AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce the results. The tests showed no structural damage.

>>AP source: Chiefs’ Mahomes sustained high ankle sprain

News Center 7 will have coverage of the Bengals and Chiefs leading up to kickoff.

This includes the Orange Zone Sunday morning, January 29, at 11:30 a.m. with John Bedell and Larry Hansgen.

News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis will also provide live coverage from Kansas City.

Kickoff between the Bengals and Chiefs will be at 6:30 p.m.

The game will be televised on Channel 7.

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