CINCINNATI (WKRC) - While the stars shined bright for the Bengals in Sunday's win over the Kansas City Chiefs it was several unsung players who came through when called upon that mattered just as much, which is the mark of a championship-caliber team.

Sure, there was Joe Burrow dropping dimes (he was 25 of 31 for 286 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 126.6.), wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase not missing a beat in his first game back from injury in over a month (seven catches for 97 yards) and wide receiver Tee Higgins making a contested touchdown catch early and then a contested catch for a game-clinching first down late.

The stars need to play like stars against great teams.

There was also:

• Underrated linebacker Germaine Pratt stripping Chiefs standout tight end Travis Kelce and then recovering the fumble in the fourth quarter that led to the go-ahead Bengals touchdown.
• Running back Chris Evans, who played all of two offensive snaps, catching what turned out to be the game-winning eight-yard touchdown pass from Burrow with just under nine minutes left.
• Defensive end Joseph Ossai, who played all of 12 defensive snaps in the game, sacking Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a four-yard loss in the fourth quarter that forced Kansas City to try a 55-yard field goal to attempt to tie the score at 27-27 only to have Harrison Butker push it wide right.
• Runnning back Samaje Perine in his second straight start in place of Joe Mixon, who hasn't cleared concussion protocol, rushing for 106 yards on 21 carries and adding 49 yards receiving on six catches.

"The Germaine play, that’s just what Germaine's all about," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. "If there’s a guy who’s scratching and clawing to get turnovers just like he won us the game against Minnesota (Vikings) last year in Week 1 doing the same thing. Finding a way, sticking with it - that’s what we appreciate about Germaine. Germaine is playing some outstanding football right now. That’s not shocking. For Joseph Ossai, the hustle play of the century right there. I mean, he was on the ground, got up chasing and found a way to get that stop leading to the missed field goal. It’s a three-point game and if Patrick scrambles for that first down, you just never know because they’re always one play away. I’ve got a ton of confidence in our defense, but let’s be real. He’s a great player, they are one play away and you don’t know how much time is going to be left on the clock. Maybe if they do kick the field goal if that were to happen after that, such a great play by him. Two great plays by those two guys."

Perine continuously kept the Bengals in positive down-and-distance circumstances thanks to picking up yardage early down runs and had some key yards after catch to keep drives alive.

"I’m so happy he’s taken this opportunity and done what he’s done," said Burrow. "He’s one of those guys that you love being around. He brings the juice, and is so consistent day in and day out. He’ll get you two or three yards if there’s nothing there, and that’s so valuable.”

None of that would have mattered if Burrow hadn't played like Burrow and Chase hadn't played like Chase.

Burrow certainly put himself into the mix for NFL MVP with another in a long line of outstanding performances.

Since the 19-17 loss at Baltimore that dropped the Bengals to 2-3, in the eight games since in leading the Bengals to a 7-1 record he completed 180 passes in 249 attempts (72.3 percent) for 2,130 yards, 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions for a passer rating of 114.3.

"He’s playing at the level we need for him to lead us to be confident that we can go win every game we play," said Taylor. "Whatever those conversations are like (for MVP), there’s no doubt as I’ve said before; I wouldn't trade him for anyone in the world.”

Chase had missed the previous four games due to a hairline fracture of his right hip, but looked as good as new, including jumping over a defender after catching a pass along the right sideline and making a spectacular one-handed catch along the left sideline in which he landed out of bounds.

"I’ve kind of been surprised at how he looks the same as when he left," said Taylor. "I hadn’t felt that after some reps last week, just watching him do routes on air. Before the Tennessee (Titans) game, I knew the wise thing to do was communicate with him and keep him out, but watching him move, man, (I though) if he comes to me and says ‘I’m definitely playing this game,’ I might have a couple plays ready for him. He’s just a freak."

Then there was Higgins, who stepped into the WR1 role when Chase was out, catching 23 passes for 312 yards on 27 targets in the previous three games combined, then coming up with two huge catches on Sunday. The first came on the Bengals second drive of the game when the Bengals faced 3rd-and-8 from the Chiefs 12 and he caught a slant from Burrow around the Kansas City 3 and then muscled through two defenders into the end zone. The second came with the Bengals facing 3rd-and-11 from the Kansas City 28 with just under two minutes left and he caught another slant in traffic for a 14-yard gain to seal the win.

"I changed the play call probably three times. and ultimately that’s as simple as a play as it gets,'" said Taylor. "It’s whether or not our guys go win one-on-one’s and that’s what they did. For Tee (Higgins), I don’t know how Tee came down with it. The ball was caught way further inside than I’m used to thinking, but Joe had to hold on to it for a while. I can’t wait to watch that clip on tape and see how they won us that game.”

Stars shining bright, unsung players coming through when their number is called. It's a formula for major success.

"This team is so confident right now, this is what we visualized entirely," said Taylor. "I know a lot is made because they’re a tremendous football team. (We’ve) got a lot of respect for them. We are a tremendous football team as well. This team is playing as well as I hoped we’d be playing right here in early December. Like I told our guys, we didn’t win a division championship today. We didn't win our conference. We just won a game in early December."

It's the way they did it -- against the team they did it -- that has all the options on the table over the next two months.