Even Joe Burrow couldn't bail out the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. The Bengals entered the final day of the 2024 NFL season still alive in the AFC playoff race—but they needed some help. Sitting at 9–8 on Sunday after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the regular-season finale the day prior,

In the end, despite a five-game winning streak to close the season, the Cincinnati Bengals’ furious rally to make the 2025 NFL playoffs fell just short. With the Denver Broncos’ blowout win over a backup-laden Kansas City Chiefs team, Denver secured the AFC’s No. 7 seed, leaving an MVP-caliber Joe Burrow on the outside looking in of the postseason.

The first two worked out in the Bengals' favor, however, with Kansas City playing its backups in the regular-season finale, Denver was able to blow K.C. out with ease, handing the Chiefs a 38-0 loss. This led to red-hot Cincinnati getting eliminated.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce recently tried to shut down accusations that his team was afraid to face the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs.

The Cincinnati Bengals didn't get another shot at the Kansas City Chiefs this season because they fell short of the playoffs at 9-8. Along the way, fans pointed out on social media that the Chiefs did