Things were not going swimmingly for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half of their AFC Championship Game against the heavily-favored Kansas City Chiefs Sunday afternoon.
Cincinnati found itself down 21-3 late in the second quarter with Patrick Mahomes having dominated for the Chiefs. That included the former NFL MVP completing 13 of his first 14 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns. This was just the continuation of dominance on the part of Mahomes during the playoffs.
Cincinnati needed to make something happen taking over with just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter. That’s when Joe Burrow went to the unlikeliest of targets. The sophomore quarterback hit running back Samaje Perine on a 41-yard touchdown to give the Bengals their first touchdown of the game.
Just a simple screen pass to the veteran running back resulting in a huge touchdown for Cincinnati to make this a two score game.
Even more impressive than the play call, rookie Ja’Marr Chase’s blocking down the field was absolutely elite. He opened up huge running lanes for Perine as he scored his second touchdown of the season, playoffs included.