Bengals' Tyler Boyd - Would've beaten Chiefs if I was healthy - ESPN

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd believes he was the missing factor that kept the team from making back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.

In his first day of offseason workouts, the veteran wide receiver met with reporters for the first time since the AFC championship loss to Kansas City, where he suffered a deep thigh bruise early in the second quarter of the 23-20 loss. Boyd said he would have finished the game if he was at least 80% healthy.

He said what bothered him the most was the feeling that he let the team down.

«Still to this day, I feel like if I would have played the whole game, I was the key factor,» Boyd said. «We would've won the game.»

At the time of the injury, Boyd had two catches for 40 yards. He appeared to suffer the injury following a 24-yard completion. At the end of a big gain, Boyd's left leg was caught beneath Kansas City safety Justin Reid as Reid made the tackle. When Boyd stood up following the play, he immediately favored his left leg.

Boyd said he tried various ailments such as numbing cream and ibuprofen to get back on the field but was not able to play in the second half. He added that he didn't want to get back on the field and 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 on Tuesday. «I wish I was able to do it, but things happen.»

Bengals coach Zac Taylor, the team's offensive playcaller, said that losing Boyd presented a key challenge given how much Kansas City was double-teaming the team's outside receivers, Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase.

Throughout his career, Boyd's ability to fight through