With a touchdown and an interception late in the second quarter, Kansas City seems to have taken control of this game at its midway point. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce quickly showed that their injuries wouldn’t significantly hinder them in the game. Mahomes found Kelce for the game’s first touchdown with just under four minutes left in the second quarter on a 14-yard pass.
Harrison Butker’s extra point gave Kansas City a 13-3 lead. And Mahomes’s 165 yards and was already more than either quarterback threw for in the N.F.C. championship earlier Sunday.
“Burrowhead,” the nickname for Kansas City’s stadium by Bengals players and fans, hasn’t been kind to quarterback Joe Burrow in the first half.