AFC Game Of The Week
Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals
Chiefs: Eight. That’s the number of games they’ve won. It’s safe to say they’ve come a long way from those struggles that were hurting them earlier in the year. That seems so long ago, doesn’t it? Now, they are a completely different football team that is clicking at the right time. With the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC West and became the first AFC West team to win the division in six consecutive years. During the winning streak, the defense has truly been the catalyst. Compared to the beginning of the year, they’ve come a long way. Back then, there were lapses in communication and you saw a unit that didn’t bother to try. Now, I see a group where everybody is on the same page and they have simplified things meaning they don’t emphasize one thing as they were which I think was the problem. Now, the offense is slowly but surely coming along. Against Pittsburgh, the Chiefs didn’t have Travis Kelce but they still didn’t miss a beat. Tyreek Hill played, but he didn’t have the typical Cheetah numbers as usual. It was the others who stepped it up and they were able to run the football which is a scary thought. This is a scary team that’s found its swagger after things looked lost for a while. On Sunday, they will face a Bengals team who’s clicking.
Bengals: Before playing the Baltimore Ravens, a comment was made. The Ravens defensive coordinator, Don Martindale stated after playing the Packers that Davante Adams is one of the two best wide receivers in football and we can already fit Aaron Rodgers for a gold jacket in Canton, Ohio. Then, he went on to say that he’s not giving Joe Burrow a gold jacket. Here’s my thing. Well, two of them. One, to run your mouth like that, make sure your defensive starters are all in. Your secondary has been decimated by the injury bug all year long. Number two, that’s bulletin board material. While Joe may not say he didn’t take it personally, his play did all the talking. Joe had the game of his life. He completed 37 of his 46 pass attempts, threw for 525 yards passing which is the fourth most in NFL history in a game and four touchdown passes. With the win, the Bengals not only took control of the AFC North, but they also swept Baltimore for the first time since 2015. When they’ve been on, they’ve been an impressive team to watch. The offense is composed of many different playmakers. If you’re open, you’re getting the football. As a defense, they’ve been one of the more improved units in all of the football because they’re stout at stopping the run and the pass rush is consistent. They will welcome the streaking Chiefs to town on Sunday.
Chiefs X-Factor: Melvin Ingram– Remember a few weeks back when I said Steve Spagnuolo has a total of four pass rushers on his defensive line? This is one of them. Melvin’s pursuit of the quarterback is top-notch because he comes from different angles to rush the passer. He can come from the edge or stunt in the middle and bring that pressure up the a gap. Melvin finds ways to impact, yet affect the game in several ways. Look for him to help lead a pass rush to limit Burrow.
Bengals X-Factor: Joe Mixon– He creates so many problems and mismatches for defenses. As I’ve been saying all year long. What Aaron Jones is to the Packers is what Joe Mixon is to the Bengals because of his ability to impact the game as both a rusher and a receiver. You look up and boom! He has close to 100 yards of scrimmage. Joe might be the most important piece to this entire puzzle for the Cincinnati offense.
Final Thoughts: This will mark the first meeting between Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow. I’m expecting the football to fly all over the field in this one. Both these teams have been in rhythm throughout the year. The Chiefs humiliated the Steelers in week 16. This will be a tougher opponent they will see on Sunday. The Bengals have pass rushers to get after Mahomes. They can rush four and force him to his weak side (left). The Chiefs should have Travis Kelce back and there’s not a single player on the Bengals that can keep up with him. Look for Mahomes to get him the football as often as he can. This Cincinnati offense has weapons as I’ve said up top. Seeing how this Chiefs’ defense matches up with them will be interesting to watch. I see this game being close throughout.
Prediction: Chiefs 31, Bengals 21
