Chiefs’ ‘Shady’ Blowout 0-38 Loss To Broncos Has Bengals Players Crying Foul

The Cincinnati Bengals, at one point at under a 5% chance to make the playoffs at 4-8, stormed back with a 5-0 run to end the season. Their shoddy start to the season, though, meant that their destiny came down to two outcomes: a Jets win over the Miami Dolphins and a Kansas City Chiefs win over the Denver Broncos.

The more unlikely of those, at least on paper, did happen: the New York Jets improved to 5-12 on the season and knocked the Miami Dolphins to under .500 with a 32-20 win. Aaron Rodgers threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns in what was by far his most productive appearance with the Jets.

Coming into Week 18, the Chiefs were 15-1, with one loss to the dominant Buffalo Bills. The Broncos, meanwhile, were 9-7, led by rookie quarterback Bo Nix.

The only problem: the Chiefs had already locked down the top seed in the AFC in Week 17. The Bengals’ fate, then, would come down to the Chiefs’ backup quarterback Carson Wentz and a less-than-stellar supporting cast of all backups.

It wasn’t surprising that the Chiefs lost. But losing 0-38, with Wentz contributing under a hundred passing yards and the defense surrendering nearly 500, led to accusations of intentional failure.

“Chiefs didn’t want us, plain and simple,” wrote one Bengals fan on X. “They threw the game. Prove me wrong.”

“When the announcers say “we are gonna take you to a more competitive game” [because] a 15-1 team is throwing the game, that’s bad. And beyond shady,” contributed another user.

Even Bengals superstar receiver Ja’Marr Chase implied he thought the Chiefs lost on purpose while on Instagram Live following the game.

Many of these accusations come from the viewpoint that Bengals superstar Joe Burrow is the only quarterback who can outduel Patrick Mahomes in the postseason. The Chiefs, after all, have made the Super Bowl in four of the last five seasons – all except 2022, when the Bengals bested them in overtime.

Chiefs fans, though, point to the backups’ incentives to display themselves well on a national stage as proof that the team couldn’t intentionally fail, and point out that the Chiefs’ most recent postseason clash with the Bengals was a successful one.

Regardless of the Chiefs’ performance, though, the Bengals lost eight games this season, including a Week 1 loss to the last-place New England Patriots. Just one more win would have guaranteed them the playoffs over the Broncos.

The Chiefs, as the first seed in the AFC, have a first-round bye. The Broncos will play the two-seed Buffalo Bills in the first round – a game promising a stiff uphill climb against presumptive MVP Josh Allen.

Meanwhile, the Bengals go home to lick their wounds despite Burrow’s performance, a triple-crown season from Chase, and a fantastic season from Trey Hendrickson, who leads the NFL in sacks. Some years just aren’t yours.

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Article by Katherine Manz