KANSAS CITY, Missouri: There was never any doubt that this would happen.

“That’s what the Bengals and the Chiefs are all about,” said Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who lost two games that way when he played for the Chiefs.

For the fourth time in the six games since January 2, 2022, a walk-off field goal decided the game.

It went from 51 yards to Harrison Butker of the Chiefs, seconds after Bengals rookie safety Daijah Anthony was cautioned for interfering with Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice on fourth-and-16 at the Bengals’ 36-yard line in Kansas City’s 26-25 win at a packed Arrowhead Stadium.

“Losing by one point hurts,” said cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who had one of two interceptions of two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. “It hurts even more when we lost by three points because we already had it in the bag.”

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor watched his team take four leads against the two-time Super Bowl champions, most recently on a 53-yard field goal by Evan McPherson with 9:28 minutes left in the game.

“I’m disappointed that we lost. It’s an emotional loss for us,” Taylor said. “But at the same time, I like our mental state right now. How we fought. How confident we were and how we went about it the right way.”

As for the penalty, Taylor declined to comment on the referee’s decision, but said, “Plays like that will benefit us at some point this year.”

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow played better than Mahomes (a passer rating of 103.7 versus 80.6), a well-placed warning shot against rumors about his wrist health. It was his best passing performance against the two-time Super Bowl champions since a 128 in the win over the Chiefs on Dec. 4, 2022, at Paycor Stadium.

He didn’t have a win to show for it, however, mainly because his fumble, when he was sacked on third down on the third play of the fourth quarter, was converted into a 38-yard touchdown return by safety Chamarri Conner, giving the Chiefs a 23-22 lead.

“Disappointing,” said Burrow.

Burrow was as dejected and quiet as ever after a loss. He called it as frustrating as ever. But he put them in position with some physical courage when he scored the game-winning touchdown with 2:16 left in the third quarter to give the Bengals a 22-17 lead.

On third-and-2 from the Chiefs’ 15-yard line, he broke free of a sack and dragged two defenders for four yards. On third-and-1 from the 2-yard line, he snuck up the middle to the 1-yard line. On fourth-and-3 from the 3-yard line, he rushed into the pocket and found wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, who broke off his route and caught his second touchdown of the game. Iosivas said the defensive back undercut him, so he came back to Burrow.

“He broke his route early. That was an incredible performance from him that early,” Burrow said. “They were trying to defend and he ran the route to beat them. That was a great play from him.”

Burrow, who completed 23 of 36 passes, threw two touchdown passes and rushed for 258 yards, said he hasn’t felt as good throwing as he has since undergoing wrist surgery last November.

“I thought I played fast and decisively,” Burrow said. “I have to hold onto the ball.”

Burrow was the one who did everything. Even the peacemaker. He couldn’t prevent wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase from receiving an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after Chase was stopped by cornerback Trent McDuffie on a second-and-11 play from the Chiefs’ 34-yard line with 10:18 left to play and the Bengals trailing 23-22. That play took them out of the game and put them in position to score a touchdown, but McPherson made the 53-yard run.

“I was just trying to de-escalate the situation,” said Burrow, who twice shoved Chase away from the referees and McDuffie. “I think something was said, but I’m not sure what.”

The Chiefs did what they do when wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) isn’t playing: They took over Chase and played as a soft shell. He had just four catches for 35 yards and is still waiting for a long ball this season: His longest catch was 13 yards on Sunday.

Taylor and Burrow got a lot out of their tight ends. Tanner Hudson (knee) didn’t play, but Mike Gesicki (seven catches for 91 yards), rookie Erick All Jr. (4-32) and Drew Sample (3-28) combined for 151 yards on 14 catches as the Bengals uncharacteristically used a slew of double and triple tight end sets.

“That was the type of game they played,” Burrow said. “We knew they were going to double one (Chase), and we needed guys to step up, and they did.”

Rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton said Burrow essentially told him the same thing when a long ball flew over Burton’s head at the goal line on his first NFL target in the first half.

“He basically said we should go ahead and do something. We needed guys to step in because they were double-covering Ja’Marr,” Burton said.

That’s what Burton did on the first play after the Chiefs took a 17-16 lead. On the Bengals’ first play of the second half, Burton hit a ball wide, making it the Bengals’ longest play of the season and his first NFL catch – a 42-yard pass down the left sideline that set up the game-winning touchdown.

Earlier in the week, Zac Taylor praised Burton for his approach to training and rewarded him with the longest partnership with Burrow in a game.

“It was a quarter look and I wore it outside,” Burton said.

Taylor-Britt had some advice for Anthony, the seventh-round pick from Mississippi State. “These things happen. Move on. You can’t take it back. The game is over.”

He pointed to his own sequence in this game. In the second quarter, Mahomes beat him to it with a 44-yard go-lob to wide receiver Rashee Rice down the left sideline, tying the game at 10-10. Taylor-Britt jumped up and nearly deflected the ball as it sailed over his head.

“He left a lot of air underneath,” Taylor-Britt said.

Instead of moping, Taylor-Britt made a great play on the final play of the third quarter with the Bengals leading 22-17. Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy, the fastest player in NFL Scouting Combine history, couldn’t outrun Taylor-Britt, and Mahomes didn’t let him outrun him when he threw him short on the same go ball down the left sideline. CTB turned and grabbed the ball with his right hand at the Bengals’ 34-yard line.

“I made the exact same play in practice,” Taylor-Britt said of last week. “I learned something from the touchdown. How they split up in formation. I knew what Xavier Worthy was. He’s a guy who gets going fast and doesn’t want to get touched. I just had to go up there and make a play.”

The Bengals ended the game with both of their starting defensive tackles out with hamstring injuries. BJ Hill left in the first quarter and Sheldon Rankins left with eight minutes left.

Their two backups they scheduled in July, freshmen Kris Jenkins Jr. (thumb) and McKinnley Jackson (knee), have not played yet. So left end and defensive captain Sam Hubbard did what he hadn’t done in four years and went inside on third down during the two-minute drills at the end of each half. As the game progressed and the Chiefs gained 149 rushing yards on 4.7 yards per carry, Hubbard went on a day when the defense was slacking but didn’t break it until the penalty. Joseph Ossai came off the bench to play Hubbard’s spot on the left edge. He played 35 snaps, his most since 46 in the final must-win game of the 2022 regular season.

“Whatever they need. I’m excited to see how that role plays out,” said Hubbard, who missed most of training camp and felt much better this week than last. “(Tackles) Jay Tufele has been working his ass off. Zach Carter.”

Hubbard’s “Bash Brother,” however, Pro Bowl sacker Trey Hendrickson, dominated the final quarter. He blew up the Chiefs’ second-to-last drive with his second sack of the day and drew a holding penalty on the next snap. On the final drive, his relentless pressure helped collapse the pocket on fourth down and drew a hands-to-the-face penalty that allowed fourth-and-16.

“He played great when we needed him to,” Hubbard said.

Anthony got another penalty when he held all-world tight end Travis Kelce, which negated a pick by cornerback DJ Turner. But Anthony helped another strong performance by the committee by limiting Kelce to one catch for five yards on three attempts. Kelce doesn’t do much against the Bengals. In the four regular-season games since 2021, he has scored 25, 57, 56 and five yards.

It could have gone to overtime, but McPherson missed an extra point on a day where he made four field goals and kept them in the game. That’s the only kick he’s missed in six games against the Chiefs…

Referee Alex Kemp told an official he flagged Chase for “offensive language.” The reason given was that Chase felt he was the victim of McDuffie’s hip-drop tackle, but the referees disagreed…

Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither only intercepts NFL MVPs. The first in his career was from Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. The second was from Mahomes on Sunday on a day when defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo played with three backers at times to stop the run with a weakened defensive line. It also helped shut down Kelce, as Davis-Gaither’s deep drop to the middle in a cover-two zone seemed to fool Mahomes.

“The guy got him (Mahomes). He was just waiting for Kelce to break the ball,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “Kelce got in there and didn’t see it was a cover two look and this backside linebacker, an experienced guy, snuck right into the frame. He doesn’t miss that often.” …

With backups Logan Wilson, who played all 65 snaps, and Germaine Pratt 61, Davis-Gaither recorded 16 …