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It's Super Bowl Sunday as the Philadelphia Eagles are looking to end the three-peat bid by the Kansas City Chiefs. This year is the second time in the last three seasons the Eagles and Chiefs are facing off in the NFL's title game. On their respective paths to New Orleans this season were the Cincinnati Bengals, one of eight teams the Chiefs and Eagles both played this season. The AFC West (Chiefs) and NFC East (Eagles) both played the AFC North and NFC South as part of their 2024 schedule, meaning the Bengals joined the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as common opponents between this year's Super Bowl participants. Both matchups were disappointments for Bengals fans, though in different ways. Here's how Cincinnati fared against the 2024 AFC and NFC champions.
Week 2: Bengals fall at KC, 26-25
It was too early in the season for anyone to know, but the Week 2 matchup between the Bengals and Chiefs proved
to embody what the 2024 season would look like for each club . Cincinnati and Kansas City traded scores for most of the first half: Each team hit a field goal in the first quarter while Andrei Iosivas and Rashee Rice were on the receiving end of touchdown passes early in the second, making for a 10-10 game with 8:50 to play in the first half. Cincinnati took a 16-10 lead into the halftime break, thanks to a pair of Evan McPherson field goals (48 and 33 yards, respectively). Kansas City took its first lead of the game with 8:21 to play in the third quarter, a one-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to offensive lineman Wanya Morris in what is still not only his only career touchdown, but his only career reception. Iosivas was on the receiving end of Joe Burrow's second touchdown pass of the day, giving the Bengals a 22-17 lead, after McPherson missed the extra point attempt. Despite
one of the best interceptions of the season from Cam Taylor-Britt , the Bengals couldn't turn an early fourth-quarter turnover into points. In fact, the exact opposite happened. In fact, three plays later, Burrow was brought down trying to step up in the pocket to escape pressure and lost the football, with Chamarri Conner returning the fumble 38 yards for a touchdown and a 23-22 lead. The Bengals responded, marching 33 yards in eight plays, for a 53-yard field goal off McPherson's boot, giving Cincinnati a 25-23 lead. Neither team scored for the following 9:27 of game time. In the game's closing seconds, the Chiefs were faced with a 4th and 16 with 38 seconds to play. Mahomes thew a pass deep to Rice, but rookie Daijahn Anthony was there in coverage to break the pass up. Or, at least, so the Bengals thought. A late flag was thrown against Anthony for defensive pass interference and kept KC's drive alive. Six plays later, the Chiefs' Harrison Butker kicked a 51-yard field goal to win the game. The result was the second of Cincinnati's seven one-score losses, a trend the Bengals bucked in the home stretch of the season when it was too little, too late. For Kansas City, it was the first in a long line of high-profile officiating calls (or no calls) that seemed to go their way. The very next week, on Sunday night football, former Cincinnati Bearcat Bryan Cook was not called for defensive pass interference in the end zone against Atlanta Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts.
Week 8: Wheels fall off for Bengals against visiting Eagles
Entering Week 8, the Bengals had their first true swing of momentum of the season. Having won three of their last four (the only loss coming in overtime to Baltimore), Cincinnati was looking to make a statement at home against one of the NFC's top contenders. The Eagles, who were coming in on a two-game winning streak, still had some noise around how good they were. Prior to the modest win streak, they had lost two of three and, after a 20-16 win against the Cleveland Browns, head coach Nick Sirianni was caught taunting Eagles fans from the sideline,
an action for which he later apologized for . The game opened with a statement drive from the Bengals, going 70 yards in 17 plays and taking over 10 minutes off the clock. In the second quarter, the Bengals and Eagles opened the frame by trading field goals, but Jalen Hurts punched in a one-yard touchdown rush with 22 seconds to play, taking a 10-10 game into halftime. A first-half defensive struggle turned into a second-half shootout, favoring the visitors. The second half opened with the Eagles and Bengals trading touchdowns: A 7-yard rush from Hurts, a 4-yard punch in from Chase Brown and a 45-yard connection between Hurts and DeVonta Smith, giving the Eagles a 24-17. Inside the final minute of the third quarter, the Bengals were stuffed on back-to-back plays with just one yard to go to pick up a third down from their own 39. A Zach Moss dive was snuffed out at the line and, on fourth down, Burrow found Ja'Marr Chase on a screen, but the Eagles defense was ready for it, bringing him down for a loss of two. The Bengal defense stood tall on the ensuing possession, holding the Eagles to a field goal, but the doors were about to be blown wide open. Trailing 27-17, the Bengals were driving well - going 16 yards on just wo plays - when a tip-drill interception on a ball intended for Ja'Marr Chase landed in the hands of CJ Gardner-Johnson, ending Cincinnati's threat. 12 plays later, Philly scored to take a 34-17 lead. One play later, Burrow found tight end Mike Gesicki for a modest four-yard gain, but lost the ball trying to juke a pair of Eagles defenders. Philadelphia recovered, and added a field goal to their tally,
making for a 37-17 final score . The win officially cemented the Eagles as one of the NFC's juggernaut, as they'd go on to win nine of their final 10 games en route to the No. 2 seed in the NFC. For the Bengals, the loss nearly spiraled their season, with the Bengals losing three of their next four games - the only win of that stretch coming against Las Vegas the following week. While Joe Burrow had a career year, two of his worst statistical performances came against the Chiefs and Eagles. He lost two fumbles against the Chiefs (one of just three instances that happened in 2024) and threw for just one touchdown pass against the Eagles, marking one of just four times he did not throw at least two. Regardless of who wins Sunday, this year will mark the fourth-straight season that the Bengals have played the eventual Super Bowl champion.
