Following their defeat by the Chiefs, the Bengals are no longer eligible to compete in the playoffs.

(AP) — KANSAS CITY, MO The Bengals’ postseason aspirations were completely dashed on a chilly New Year’s Eve in Arrowhead Stadium by the Chiefs, exactly one year after Kansas City ended Cincinnati’s season in a thrilling AFC championship game.

The Chiefs defeated one of their biggest conference rivals, the Bengals, 25-17 on Sunday, sealing their eighth straight AFC West title. They did it by applying constant pressure on Jake Browning, including four sacks on the last possession as he attempted to rally the team for the tying score.
In the playoffs, the Chiefs will start as the third seed. Following their game against the playoff-bound Cleveland Browns in the regular season finale next week, the Bengals will be taking a week off.

Jake Browning to the Vikings: 'They never should have cut me'

Bengals coach Zac Taylor stated, “Being out of contention was not our goal.”

putting Jake Browning under constant pressure, including four sacks on The Chiefs won the AFC West for the eighth time in a row on Sunday, defeating the Bengals, one of their fiercest conference rivals, 25-17. They achieved this by relentlessly pressuring Jake Browning, who was trying to rally the squad for the game-winning touchdown on the final play, and he was sacked four times.
The Chiefs will begin as the third seed in the playoffs. The Bengals will have a week off after their regular season finale next week against the playoff-bound Cleveland Browns.

“Being out of contention was not our goal,” said Zac Taylor, the coach of the Bengals.
the Chiefs held one in the last possession as he attempted to rouse the Bengals for the game-tying score.

A patient 15-play drive that resulted in a field goal to start the game and a 75-yard march that culminated in Browning’s touchdown pass to Joe Mixon gave them a 10-7 lead. And the Bengals took a 17-7 lead after Trey Hendrickson stripped Patrick Mahomes, forcing a turnover, and giving Browning a touchdown run on a short field.

They would not score once again.

Tanner Hudson’s missed first-down pass on the Bengals’ following drive resulted in a three-and-out, and Harrison Butker’s first of six field goals for Kansas City with 35 seconds remaining in the first half saw the clock run out.

Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase takes savage shot at Chiefs defense

But Taylor could have been more concerned with the Bengals’ first drive of the second half.

Following two third-down conversions by Cincinnati, the team moved inside the Kansas City 10 and Taylor was faced with a fourth-and-one situation at the 6-yard line. Taylor chose to go for it instead of kicking a field goal that would have increased the margin to 20–13, and Willie Gay stuffed Mixon for a 3-yard loss and a turnover on downs.

“Avoiding short yardage is the best way to convert in short yardage, and it’s an obvious statement that coming away with no points right there is brutal,” Browning stated.

One of the most important moments in the game, in the Chiefs’ opinion, was the defensive stand.

They arrived at a downward run. As soon as Willie managed to knock it back, we went the other way.