KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes scrambled for a first down on his badly sprained right ankle and then was shoved late out of bounds by Joseph Ossai, giving Harrison Butker a chance to kick a 45-yard field goal with 3 seconds left that gave the Kansas City Chiefs a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game. The Chiefs finally beat the Bengals after three straight losses, including a three-point overtime defeat in last year’s conference championship game. They advanced to play the Philadelphia Eagles in their third Super Bowl in four years.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs lost cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to the concussion protocol and versatile linebacker Willie Gay Jr. to a shoulder injury, depriving their defense of two key playmakers in their AFC title game against the Bengals. The Chiefs also lost wide receivers Kadarius Toney to a twisted ankle and Mecole Hardman while getting tackled early in the second half Sunday night. Bengals counterpart Tyler Boyd went down early in the second half with a quad injury.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts had one of Philadelphia’s four rushing touchdowns and the Eagles soared into the Super Bowl, forcing both of San Francisco’s quarterbacks out of the game with injuries and beating the wounded 49ers 31-7 in the NFC championship game. The Eagles won the Super Bowl five years ago with a different coach and quarterback. They'll try to do it again behind the formidable duo of Hurts and Nick Sirianni. Philadelphia will play either the Cincinnati Bengals or former Eagles coach Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs. Miles Sanders ran for two touchdowns and linebacker Haason Reddick made the hit that forced 49ers rookie quarterback Brock Purdy out of the game with an elbow injury.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Joe Burrow couldn't carry the Cincinnati Bengals to a second consecutive Super Bowl on Sunday night. The brilliant quarterback was sacked five times, threw two interceptions and was wobbly by the end of Cincinnati's 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game. Burrow finished with 270 yards passing and a touchdown. But he also was hit with a costly intentional grounding penalty late in the fourth quarter, and he was sacked by Chris Jones with 41 seconds left, forcing Cincinnati to punt the ball back to the Chiefs. Harrison Butker kicked a field goal with 3 seconds left to win the game for Kansas City.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brock Purdy’s magical run from last pick in the NFL draft to winning his first seven starts for the San Francisco 49ers ended when Haason Reddick knocked him out of the NFC championship game in the first quarter. Purdy was forced to return in the second half despite an elbow injury after Josh Johnson left with a concussion. But he threw only two passes and handed off the rest of the game. By that time, the 49ers already trailed the Eagles 21-7 and couldn’t get anything going. From Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo to Purdy, the 49ers overcame quarterback injuries throughout the season, winning 12 straight games to reach their third conference title game in four years.
DALLAS (AP) — Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett, who led the Bulldogs to their second straight national championship, has been arrested in Dallas after police said he was intoxicated and banging on doors. Dallas police said the 25-year-old was arrested Sunday. Police said Bennett was charged with public intoxication and taken to the city detention center. Police said that at about 6:10 a.m., officers responded to reports of a man banging on doors. Last week, Bennett told reporters that he would be training for his pro career in Fort Worth, Texas, located just west of Dallas. Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for two scores in the first half as No. 1 Georgia demolished No. 3 TCU 65-7 in the national championship game.
SUNDAY SCORES
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Philadelphia 31 San Francisco 7
Final Kansas City 23 Cincinnati 20
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1)Purdue 77 Michigan St. 61
Final (23)Providence 70 Villanova 65
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Charlotte 122 Miami 117
Final Memphis 112 Indiana 100
Final Cleveland 122 L.A. Clippers 99
Final Milwaukee 135 New Orleans 110
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Toronto 5 Washington 1
Final Carolina 4 Boston 1