Tyler Boyd Believes Bengals Beat Chiefs If Healthy

Had he been healthy, Tyler Boyd believes the Bengals would have returned to the Super Bowl.
Tyler Boyd Believes Bengals Beat Chiefs If Healthy
Tyler Boyd Believes Bengals Beat Chiefs If Healthy /

PITTSBURGH -- The Cincinnati Bengals fell in devastating fashion to the Kansas City Cheifs in the AFC Championship Game last January, falling 23-20 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Former Pitt Panthers receiver Tyler Boyd, a key part of the Bengals' prolific passing offense, feels that his absence from most of the final three quarters was the difference between victory and defeat for his team. 

"Still to this day, I feel like if I would have played the whole game, I was the key factor," the former Pitt receiver Boyd said. "We would've won the game."

Boyd went down with a deep thigh bruise in the second quarter after making a 24-yard reception and rolling his leg underneath the body of Chiefs safety Justin Reid. 

After limping off the field, Boyd said he tried using different medicines to numb the pain and get back in the game, but he felt that he would not have been able to play at the pace Cincinnati needed to win. So Boyd deferred to the healthy complement of pass-catchers on his team. He exited the game with a pair of catches for 40 yards. 

"I just felt like we had enough depth for guys like [Trenton Irwin] and other guys to come in and play at a faster pace than what I felt like I could do," Boyd said. "I wish I was able to do it, but things happen."

Head coach and play caller Zac Taylor agreed that the Bengals suffered after Boyd left the game because Kansas City was able to double-team star wideouts Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work: