Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt expressed regret for his reaction that went viral after the team's AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

As Pratt entered the locker room at Arrowhead Stadium, Pratt was spotted yelling, "Why would you touch the f---ing quarterback?," referencing Joseph Ossai's penalty for unnecessary roughness that preceded the game-winning field goal.

On Monday, Pratt said the way he responded was incorrect.

"I was in the moment," Pratt said. "I was wrong. I would say I was wrong. As a man, you can look yourself in the mirror and say, 'I was wrong.' I wasn't a great teammate in that moment. That doesn't define me as a man."

Almost a year to the day after the Cincinnati Bengals sent the Kansas City Chiefs home in overtime of last season's AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs got their revenge. Playing through a high ankle sprain, quarterback Patrick Mahomes snapped Joe Burrow and the Bengals' streak of three straight wins over Kansas City.

Harrison Butker sent the Chiefs to the Super Bowl with a 45-yard field goal to win 23-20. It is the Chiefs' third Super Bowl berth in four seasons. They'll face Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Patrick Mahomes is leaving no doubt that he'll play against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

"AFC championship week," Mahomes said. "Ready to go."

Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain in the first quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs' 27-20 playoff victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. He returned to the game in the second half.

Mahomes was listed as a full participant at Wednesday's practice. Mahomes said the ankle has progressed since the game against the Jaguars.

"It's doing good," he said. "I've done a few days of treatment, a few days of rehab. Excited to get on the practice field and kind of test it out and see where I'm at. But it's feeling good so far.

"I felt better than I thought I was going to be after the game. Moving on it during the game definitely hurt. But after the game, I was able to rest it and kind of ice it up and do different stuff like that. I felt in a little bit better position, and obviously the next morning felt a little bit better, and then I've continued to get better throughout the week, so we'll see how I feel today at practice."

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain during Saturday's divisional-round victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, a league source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The nature of the injury to Mahomes' right ankle was confirmed Sunday by an MRI, which showed no other damage, a source told Schefter.

Mahomes said Saturday night that he plans to play in next Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

The last eight remaining teams of the 2022 NFL season will square off this weekend in the Divisional Round. The pair of Saturday games feature point spreads of over one touchdown, while the two Sunday games are expected to be closer. 

Saturday, 4:30 PM ET
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs(-9.5, 52)

Saturday, 8:15 PM ET
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles(-7.5, 47)

Sunday, 3:00 PM ET
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills (-3.5, 50)

Sunday, 6:30 PM ET
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers(-4.5, 45.5)

According to FiveThirtyEight, the Chiefs and Eagles have the best odds of reaching the Super Bowl at 45 percent and 44 percent respectively. Those two teams have an implied probability above 75 percent of reaching the Conference Championship.

The Bills and 49ers finished the season ranked first and second in Total DVOA, followed by the Eagles, Chiefs and Bengals to round out the top-5. The 49ers finished first in Weighted DVOA.

Cincinnati Bengals president Mike Brown wants to keep Joe Burrow over the long-term, but he understands that it will come at a price.

Brown echoed Burrow's recent comments about the window for a potential Super Bowl run lasting his whole career, exceeding the span of his team-friendly rookie contract. Brown also referenced the balance of Burrow's impending payday with the ability to sign other top players.

"He's going to have a long career," Brown said. "We certainly want it to be here. I think his window will extend over his whole career. But there is the fact that when you don't have to pay the quarterback some extraordinary amount, that leaves room to pay other players more and, therefore, you can keep more players that are good players."

Burrow, the top overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, has one year remaining on his rookie contract, which includes a fifth-year option that teams can exercise on players selected in the first round. However, because Burrow has now been in the league for three seasons, he is eligible for a contract extension.

Joe Burrow would like to remain with the Cincinnati Bengals for his entire career and hopes Zac Taylor remains as head coach.

"My plan is to be here my whole career, and hopefully Zac is here my whole career," Burrow told NBC.

Burrow will become eligible for a contract extension this offseason.

"I have a lot of confidence in the front office doing their jobs in the offseason," Burrow said.

Joe Mixon has been fined by the NFL for his Week 18 touchdown celebration in the Cincinnati Bengals' victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

Mixon pulled a quarter out of his glove and flipped it after scoring early in the game. The celebration was a reference to the league's decision to open the door to determining home field in a Wild Card game between the two AFC North teams with a coin flip had the Ravens won in the final week of the season.

NFL rules prohibit the use of props in touchdown celebrations. The running back heard about the fine Thursday and told reporters that he planned to appeal the fine.

An interesting wrinkle has come out in the wake of the NFL's decision not to resume Week 17's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills.

Despite the outcome of this Sunday's game between the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati has won the AFC North title due to a higher winning percentage.

However, if the Ravens defeat the Bengals in Week 18 and the two clubs face off in the Wild Card round, a coin toss would determine which team receives home field advantage.

The NFL announced that they will not resume play of Monday's Week 17 game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.

The NFL decided that playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion would have no effect on which teams qualify for the playoffs and it would also require postponing the start of the playoffs by one week.