Bengals lose Uzomah in first quarter of AFC title game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — C.J. Uzomah twisted his left knee as a pass bounced off his hands late in the first quarter of the AFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, leaving the Bengals without their talented tight end the rest of the way.

Uzomah was open over the middle on a first-down throw near midfield when the ball ricocheted off his hands. At the same time, Chiefs linebacker Anthony Hitchens wrapped up Uzomah and twisted Uzomah to the ground, and his left knee ended up getting caught beneath him at a grotesque angle.

Uzomah quickly got to his feet but didn’t put any weight on his left foot as he bounced over to the sideline. He eventually was loaded onto a cart and, with a white towel draped over his face, taken up the tunnel to the locker room.

Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox took over for the remainder of the drive, which ended in a field goal for Cincinnati.

The injury to Uzomah left Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow without one of his favorite options, particularly in the red zone, where he had a career-best five touchdown catches this season. Uzomah had four catches for 32 yards when the Bengals beat the Chiefs 34-31 in the penultimate game of the regular season.

The Chiefs lost their backup tight end, Noah Gray, early in the second quarter when he was hurt on their punt return team.

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