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Boyd: Bengals would've beaten Chiefs if I played whole AFC title game

David Eulitt / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd believes the outcome of last season's AFC Championship Game would have been different if he'd played the whole contest.

"Still to this day, I feel like if I would have played the whole game, I was the key factor," Boyd said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Ben Baby. "We would've won the game."

Boyd suffered a thigh injury early in the second quarter of Cincinnati's 23-20 playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in January. He caught two passes for 40 yards before exiting, playing just 23% of his team's offensive snaps in the game - down from 72% during the regular season.

The Bengals listed Boyd as questionable after he went down but never officially ruled him out. The 28-year-old said he didn't feel healthy enough to return and didn't want to be out of rhythm with quarterback Joe Burrow.

"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, according to Baby. "I wish I was able to do it, but things happen."

The Chiefs and Bengals have met in the last two AFC title games. Cincinnati edged Kansas City 27-24 during their first clash in January 2022, with Boyd catching four passes for 19 yards.

Boyd racked up 762 yards and five touchdowns on 58 receptions in 16 games last season. Drafted by the Bengals in the second round in 2016, he's amassed 446 catches for 5,333 yards and 29 touchdowns across seven campaigns.

Cincinnati boasts arguably the NFL's top wide receiver room, with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins headlining the depth chart.

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