Kansas City Chiefs are heading to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years after beating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 with a field goal three seconds from the end of the AFC Championship game on Sunday.
Harrison Butker converted the 45-yard game winner to grab the victory after Cincinnati – who had won their last 10 games – had threatened another comeback win.
The Chiefs, who had lost their last three meetings with Cincinnati including last year's AFC title game, will now meet the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in Arizona on February 12.
Patrick Mahomes came into the game still nursing an ankle injury picked up in last week's divisional round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Chiefs quarterback was less mobile than usual and ended the game limping at times, but was still able to deliver the key plays down the stretch and ensure Chiefs coach Andy Reid gets a meeting with his former team Philadelphia in the NFL's championship showpiece.
It was a trademark Mahomes scramble, albeit on a damaged ankle, that led to the decisive field goal.
"At some points in games, you've got to just put it all on the line," Mahomes, who threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, said.
"The defence gave us a couple chances to get in field goal range, we didn't get there. The defence got another stop for us and I knew I was going to get there somehow," he added.
After a Kansas City field goal opened the scoring, it was the Chiefs defence that made the first big impact on the game with three successive sacks of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
The Chiefs thought they had a touchdown early in the second quarter, but Isiah Pacheco's nine-yard rush was ruled out for holding and the resulting 10-yard penalty led to the Chiefs' having to settle for another field goal.
After a Bengals field goal, the Chiefs produced a touchdown from the familiar connection between Mahomes and Travis Kelce, with the quarterback rolling right and finding his tight end with a 14-yard pass.
The Bengals pushed into the red zone with an impressive drive at the end of the half, but the Chiefs defence held firm and forced another field goal, sending Kansas City in at the break with a 13-6 lead.
The Cincinnati offence sprung into life after the interval and tied up the score when Burrow went deep with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling then kept a Chiefs drive alive with a smart reach-out for a first down and the receiver finished off the 11-play, 77-yard drive, collecting a 19-yard pass down the middle from Mahomes.
But again the Bengals struck back.
Mahomes let the ball slip out of his hand while in his throwing motion and Sam Hubbard recovered the ball for the turnover. On the resulting possession, Burrow led the Bengals down the field on a drive that featured a 35-yard pass to Ja'marr Chase and Samaje Perine rushed up the middle for a two-yard touchdown to make it 20-20.
The Chiefs got the ball for the final time with 30 seconds left and with the pressure on, at third and four, Mahomes used his legs to make first down but after he ran out of bounds he was barged to the ground by Joseph Ossai.
The resulting 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness took the Chiefs within field goal distance and Butker did the rest.
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PSG's line up
GK: Alphonse Areola (youth academy)
Defence - RB: Dani Alves (free transfer); CB: Marquinhos (€31.4 million); CB: Thiago Silva (€42m); LB: Layvin Kurzawa (€23m)
Midfield - Angel di Maria (€47m); Adrien Rabiot (youth academy); Marco Verratti (€12m)
Forwards - Neymar (€222m); Edinson Cavani (€63m); Kylian Mbappe (initial: loan; to buy: €180m)
Total cost: €440.4m (€620.4m if Mbappe makes permanent move)
The biog
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OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
