Kansas City takes the lead with FG
The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s AFC Championship game at 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have five straight conference title games for an NFL record and are the AFC’s No. 1 pick. But the rising Bengals have won 10 straight games dating back to the regular season, and Cincinnati have beaten Kansas City in their last three encounters.
All eyes will be on Mahomes’ right ankle. The star quarterback suffered a bad sprained ankle in the team’s division win against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week but trained all week ahead of Sunday’s conference championship game at Arrowhead Stadium.
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Follow all the AFC Championship game news, notes and events on the USA TODAY Sports Live Blog:
Chiefs lose challenge, take a 3-0 lead after first drive
Chiefs coach Andy Reid might regret flying the Challenge flag on these.
Kansas City appealed an incomplete catch decision and was denied.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a nice pass to receiver Kadarius Toney, who failed to save the football when he hit the deck after the game.
The football clearly hit the field and the Chiefs lost a time-out after losing the challenge.
The Chiefs ended their first drive with a 43-yard field goal from Harrison Butker to take a 3-0 lead at 8:54 in the first quarter.
Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed leaves the team injured
One of Kansas City’s best defensemen was eliminated in the first quarter with an injury on the first drive of the game.
Chiefs cornerback L’Jarius Sneed appeared to hit his head after trying to tackle Bengal’s backup running back Samaje Perine.
Sneed walked on the sidelines to be evaluated with a head injury.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, the Bengals’ first drive ended with quarterback Joe Burrow getting fired by Chiefs defenseman Frank Clark.
Eagles advance to the Super Bowl
The Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC Championship game. Philadelphia outperformed San Francisco in all phases of the game.
The game quickly spiraled out of control for the 49ers when quarterback Brock Purdy suffered an elbow injury in the first quarter. Purdy later returned to the game but was unable to pitch due to his injury.
Chiefs, Bengals announce inactive players
Chiefs QB Shane Buechele, DE Joshua Kaindoh, T Darian Kinnard, TE Blake Bell, WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WR Justin Watson and DE Malik Herring are inactive Sunday, the team said.
The Bengals announced that QB Jake Browning, RB Chris Evans, CB Jalen Davis, G Alex Cappa, OT Jonah Williams, DE Jeff Gunter and DT Jay Tufele are inactive.
Patrick Mahomes got advice from Tom Brady after the division win
The Chiefs quarterback revealed to reporters this week that he spoke to Brady after Kansas City’s win over Jacksonville.
“I talked to Tom (Brady) a bit. I have a good relationship with him now,” Mahomes said. “He gives me some advice to help me. Why don’t you want to learn from the GOAT? Whenever someone like that wants to give me advice, I take it.”
Brady defeated Mahomes in the 2018 AFC Championship game when he was the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots, and Brady defeated Mahomes in Super Bowl 55 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bengals have history on their side
Not only have the Bengals beat the Chiefs three times in a row, but they are also a perfect 3-0 in AFC championship games. Cincinnati is the only organization undefeated in AFC title games.
Injury Reports
Mahomes (ankle) has been a full participant in training all week and is due to start on Sunday. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (back) is listed as a questionable but is expected to play, as does wide receiver Mecole Hardman (cymbals).
Bengals guard Alex Cappa (ankle) and left tackle Jonah Williams (knee) were both ruled out for Sunday’s game.
