Losing the coin toss in overtime isn't a death sentence, though you heard a lot about how the rules were unfair to the Buffalo Bills after an AFC divisional-round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

To get the ball to your offense, the defense needs to keep the opponent out of the end zone on the first drive. And that's what the Cincinnati Bengals did.

The Chiefs won the coin toss after tying a thrilling AFC championship game with a field goal as time expired in regulation, and there were flashbacks. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow grimaced as officials announced the Chiefs would get the ball first. All the Chiefs needed was a touchdown on the first drive to end the game. But the Bengals got a stop, with Patrick Mahomes throwing a deep third-down interception to safety Vonn Bell. That allowed the Bengals to take the ball into Chiefs territory and rookie kicker Evan McPherson hit a field goal to secure what has to be the biggest win in Bengals franchise history, even though they had been to two Super Bowls before.

The Bengals tied a conference championship round record by coming back from an 18-point deficit to stun the Chiefs 27-24. They are going to Super Bowl LVI, which seemed impossible when they trailed 21-3 and Mahomes was playing out of his mind. Even to start overtime, it seemed the coin toss might sink the Bengals.

But the Bengals got a stop, got the ball back to Burrow and won the game. Go figure.

Chiefs put Bengals in a big hole early

At some point, we have to realize that Burrow isn't going to be nervous or rattled. He led LSU to a national championship. He helped the Bengals to a couple playoff wins, including one on the road last week against the AFC's No. 1 seed Tennessee Titans.

He's not bothered by anything. He wasn't going away when the Chiefs led 21-3.

The Chiefs started fast. It looked like they would cruise to a blowout win. The Bengals punted on their first drive and then the Chiefs went on an easy 11-play, 84-yard drive capped by a beautiful throw on the move by Mahomes and a great catch by Tyreek Hill for a touchdown. The Bengals got a field goal, then the Chiefs had a fantastic answer.

Mahomes had a play that highlights his wide-ranging talent. On third down he escaped the rush multiple times, running around the backfield until he finally got free, again moving to his right. After the great escape he kept calm, looked downfield and hit Travis Kelce for a touchdown. With 5:04 left in the first half Mahomes threw another touchdown, this one to Mecole Hardman, and the game seemed all but over. Mahomes was 18-of-21 for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. That's right, he had as many touchdowns as incompletions.

There was no reason to believe the Bengals could come back, but Burrow is proving he's a special player. And by the fourth quarter the Chiefs found themselves trailing. They still had Mahomes and six minutes to work with. The Chiefs almost won it at the end of regulation, but the Bengals kept battling and got the game to overtime.

Bengals come back to take a lead

In the moment, the Chiefs' big mistake at the end of the first half didn't seem like a big deal. They were ahead 21-10 at halftime but it should have been more.

The Chiefs got the ball to the 1-yard line and decided to run a play with five seconds left. Tyreek Hill went in motion, Mahomes double-clutched and threw it wide to Hill. Hill was tackled short of the end zone and there was no time left on the clock. Mahomes needed to know to throw it away instantly if nothing was open and he didn't. It was his first mistake in the game, and it allowed the Bengals to feel they were still in the game going into halftime.

In the second half the Bengals started getting more physical on defense. It was clear early on that Bill Vinovich's officiating crew, which doesn't throw many pass interference flags, was going to let both teams play. The Bengals figured that out when a defensive pass interference against Tee Higgins in the end zone wasn't called.

That helped the defense get traction. Mahomes had 220 yards in the first half and just 17 in the third quarter. Once the Bengals started getting stops, the offense crawled back in the game. A shocking interception at the line by Bengals defensive lineman B.J. Hill set up a touchdown by Ja'Marr Chase and a two-point conversion that tied the game 21-21.

Burrow was huge in the comeback. One of the key plays came when he escaped defensive lineman Chris Jones on a sack, escaped again when Jones tried to trip him up from behind, and ran for 7 yards on third-and-6. Later in the drive, Burrow scrambled for another first down on a run. McPherson's long field goal gave the Bengals a 24-21 lead with 6:04 left.

Mahomes marched the Chiefs downfield. A shovel pass to Travis Kelce on third-and-2 got a first down at the 5-yard line with 1:28 left. They had a chance to finish it then.

Mahomes, who had been making plays happen with his legs, tried running around again but got dropped for a sack at the 9-yard line, setting up a hard third-and-goal situation. The Chiefs were well within field-goal range so they didn't want to turn it over. Then Mahomes took another sack when he had too much time to throw and nobody opened, and he fumbled it. Kansas City recovered but suddenly it was a 44-yard attempt. Harrison Butker hit it as time expired, saving Mahomes from questions about his final two plays in regulation.

Even though the Chiefs scored last in regulation, heading to overtime had to feel like a win to the Bengals after everything that happened before. But then they lost the coin toss and it felt like the Chiefs would march down for a touchdown, just like the week before against the Bills.

That didn't happen. After Vonn Bell's interception, the Bengals moved it downfield. Burrow hit a big third-down pass. Joe Mixon had some huge runs. They set up McPherson for an easy kick and the rookie delivered.

This was the Bengals' finest moment. They might not be done yet.