Doc's Morning Line: 10 things from Bengals winning AFC championship game over Chiefs

Watched a movie on the airplane on the flight from Kansas City Monday. The seatback TV had NFL Network, which was replaying the absolute glory from the previous afternoon.

Dirty little secret: When you have the ridiculously early deadlines for feeding the Traditional Media that we have, it’s impossible to watch the game intently. During the 4th quarter and OT Sunday, I buried my head in my laptop, peeking at the game when I could. Seeing it again for the first time was instructive.

And I’m still amazed the Men won.

WATCH: Vonn Bell intercepts Patrick Mahomes in OT, sets up Bengals' game-winning drive

Don’t laugh, but half of me believes this whole run is some sort of divine, karmic reward for the Bengals, for having spent their previous 33 seasons wandering the wilderness. Two OT wins in three weeks, Chiefs playing like Vandy on a Saturday afternoon.

Patrick Mahomes in the 2nd half, looking like Akili Smith. Andy Reid, going right-of-Reagan conservative after the arrogant play-call that ended the first half. (Eli Apple, biggest tackle of the season, maybe of the past 33 seasons.) On Monday morning, the KC sports radio guys said it was the worst half they’d ever seen Mahomes play.

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Tyreek Hill, as useful as a door knob in the final 30-plus minutes.

Mahomes looking timid, Reid not adjusting to the adjustments.

The Bengals D, and Lou Anarumo, making a masterpiece by rushing 4, even 3, in the 2nd half, and still harassing Mahomes. And of course, Joe Burrow, winning yet another game and afterward setting another fashion trend. Go ahead, buy yourself some Saint Joe bling. I mean, you bought his cigars and his rose-colored shades, you’re wearing his Warhol-esque T-shirt. You must have an extra $30K in couch-cushion cash for a necklace with half a billion diamonds on it.

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Who Deys, easily heard over the supposedly loud crowd at Arrowhead.

You tell me the Bengals aren’t somewhere over the rainbow.

One more ask of the Men. Time to finish the job. Are the Rams better than the Chiefs? Not on paper. But the Bowl is in their hut. Aaron Donald plays for them. So do Von Miller and Cooper Kupp.

They don’t have a Saint behind center, though. Just Matthew Stafford.

It’s such a delicious contrast we’ll be talking about for the next 12 days. The Rams and Bengals couldn’t be more different.

Stan Kroenke, LA owner, worth more billions than Jerry Jones.

Mike Brown, owner of a sensible, mid-sized American-made sedan.

Kroenke ditches solidly Midwestern St. Louis for solidly nutty LA.

Brown stays here.

Rams mortgage a couple futures to get here. Trade 2nd and a 3rd-round picks in midseason, for an aging Miller, after trading two #1s and a #3, plus their starting QB Jared Goff, for Stafford.

Bengals drafting a kicker in the 5th round.

Rams playing in a new stadium that cost more than three times more than the 2nd-most expensive playpen. Bengals playing in PBS, which unveiled a Ring of Honor, less than six months ago.

Hollywood. Over the Rhine. And so on.

Give the NFL credit. It has perfected an economic system in which Stan Kroenke and Mike Brown can share a Suite Level at the most iconic event in sports.

Without further ado. . .

A LAME, SECOND-DAY ATTEMPT AT 10 THINGS. . .

1. I’ll say it again: Eli Apple made the biggest tackle of the game, certainly, and arguably of the season. He doesn’t corral T. Hill in the open field on that last play of the half, KC leads, 28-10, and we’re having a different conversation this AM.

2. Was it arrogant to reject the sure 3 at that point? I say yes. Reid did it assuming his offense could repeat in Half 2 what it offered in Half 1. Those who don’t recall history are doomed to repeat it. KC looked just as unstoppable at PBS last month. Same result.

3. BJ Hill, Evan McPherson, Mike Hilton, Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Logan Wilson etc. Has any NFL franchise had a better couple offseasons than this one? In years? Duke Tobin has whiffed on a few drafts. We’ve noted all the misses. And no credit given for taking Burrow. That was a big ol’ Duh. But between judicious free-agent signings and prodigious drafts lately, the Bengals have re-invented themselves on the fly. Props.

4. Zac Taylor took the time Sunday night to drop off a game ball at a local establishment, keeping a promise he made a couple weeks ago. This after flying back from Kansas City. That’s strong.

5. Mahomes and Reid had their legacies dented Sunday. Big time.

6. Just sayin’: The Much Maligned O-Line did a nice job. Zero sacks for sack-meister Chris Jones, Burrow not needing to flash his twinkle-toes much.

7. But when he did, it was vital. Jones had him by the collar, and he slipped away for a 1st down. He ditched another sack and threw for 20-some yards to Chase, both in the 2nd half. He’s a young Ben Roethlisberger, the way he can buy time and find space in the pocket.

8. Lost in the euphoria was a question that needed asking: Why so conservative most of the 1st half? A thorough Mixon-izing is fine, except when it comes at the expense of Saint Joe and the Freak Show.

9. People in Kansas City are fantastically pleasant, but. . .

10. The barbecue is overrated. Sweet and tomato-based. Texas ‘cue is the best, followed closely by vinegar-based North Carolina. IMO.

11. McPherson is a Justin Tucker-type weapon who changes games. Defenses have to play the Bengals differently, knowing that a 50-yard FG is no longer a toss-up. Taylor can call plays knowing 50-yarders are not long shots, or even risky.

Now, then. . .

TRIP REPORT. . . I stayed at an Airbnb in Independence, about 5 miles from Arrowhead. One, the place looked great in the pictures, and it was, a private apartment over the detached garage, and two, any location that helped ease the travesty that is parking at that place was welcomed.

Simply, A-head can be a parking nightmare. Traffic into the lots can be equally awful. My landlord gave me a back way to the stadium that didn’t involve I-70, which was a parking lot four hours before the game, and somehow I found a parking place in between the oceans of tailgaters and their rivers of cabanas, grills, folding chairs and outdoor bars (I’m serious) that cascaded from the backs of their steroid-ed F-150s.

Then on Monday before I left, I walked around Pres. Harry Truman’s neighborhood in Independence, a comforting collage of middle-American homes, many built early in the last century. They’ve made the area into an historic district. Lots of the houses have plaques in the sidewalk out front, telling the stories of the homes and the people who occupied them. The legendary Phog Allen lived a few blocks from Truman, on Delaware Street.

Truman’s house is COVID-closed for tours, but I’d toured it many years ago. Tidy two-story, modest as the man himself.

The rest of Independence is a little worn around the edges, even as its history is fascinating. It was a boomtown between 1800 and 1850. Three trails west all merged in Independence. Frontier folks would load their wagons there, in prep for the final push West. You can still see the ruts made by wagon wheels on muddy roads. Which was cool for a nerd like me.

MAYBE SOMEDAY, THE BENGALS REVISIONIST HISTORY will look kindly at what Marvin Lewis did in his 16 years here. Not now, and that’s a shame.

Everyone’s in love with the current regime, and rightfully so. But it was Lewis who brought the Bengals back into the big leagues, after a Lost Decade of big losing and bigger jokes. Essentially, Lewis laid the foundation for what the franchise is now, and that is true no matter how many playoff games he didn’t win. Marvin did what some us figured was the impossible: He nudged Mike Brown into the 21st century.

He’s owed a thought or two in the next couple weeks.

(FIE ON!) THE AIRLINES. . . They’re are making up for lost money by hijacking your wallet and driving it to your bank, where you’ll be asked to withdraw half your life savings and a pint of blood to pay for tickets.

The ticket to the Cotton Bowl last month was $1,000, with a stop in Chicago. The ticket to LA was $800, with a stop someplace.

Two years ago was a scary virus time, but it you were brave or dumb enough to fly, the fares were a third of what they are now.

SEAN PAYTON LIKES MAHOMES BETTER THAN BURROW. HAHA. Payton to Peter King:

The young quarterback he’d pick to build a franchise around today

“We just saw them duel. Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes. A tie. When everything isn’t perfect, and there are many times in a game when things aren’t perfect, they’re the best two in the game at the off-schedule throws.

“I like Joe Burrow. I love Joe Burrow. I just trust the other guys to run it better. But that’s like, I like vanilla and pistachio, you like butter pecan. All good choices.”

And we hope sincerely that Sean and Pat enjoy their ice cream while watching the Super Bowl.

TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . What the Who Deys could be singing a couple Sundays from now.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Super Bowl 2022: Lessons learned from Cincinnati Bengals' AFC title