AFC Game Of The Week
Kansas City Chiefs at Cincinnati Bengals
Chiefs: I think they’re channeling their inner Michael Jordan from “The Last Dance” and have taken it personally. All off-season, the talk was Russell Wilson is now a Bronco, the Chargers had the best off-season out of any other team in the league with the moves they made, and they are ready to compete, the Raiders acquired Davante Adams from the Green Bay Packers and my personal favorite, the Chiefs traded away Tyreek Hill, whatever will they do? We could even add all the chatter of the Buffalo Bills being the preseason favorites not just to win the AFC but win the Super Bowl. Let’s look at everything now. The Broncos are terrible, the Chargers aren’t ready for the big moment yet, the Raiders are inconsistent, Tyreek is having a career year with the Miami Dolphins and the Bills aren’t the same team we saw earlier in the year. With all, guess who’s back on top of the AFC Playoff Picture once again. The Kansas City Chiefs and they won’t say they’ve heard everything because they just let their play do the talking, it’s that simple. Since that loss to the Bills in October, they’ve won five in a row. I’m so proud of the Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has become and I was telling someone the other day that he’s matured so much as a passer and has adapted because teams solved their offense last year. It was keeping the safety high, coverage underneath across the board and forcing them to earn those yards underneath. Now, Patrick takes what the defense gives him and works with it. With a win on Sunday, they will become the first team in the AFC with ten wins. To accomplish that, they will face the team that ended their season back in January.
Bengals: Sunday’s game in Nashville was exactly what I anticipated it to be. A low scoring and physical affair just how it was during the playoffs. I really liked their defensive gameplan against the Titans. It’s simple when you face them. Sit everyone at the line of scrimmage, keep the box loaded, account for Derrick Henry and dare Ryan Tannehill to beat you, that’s it. The Bengals not only loaded the box, but anytime Derrick had carried the football, they were able to bring him down and seal up the running lanes before he can burst through. They also tackled him with such physicality and did a strong job at containing the best Running Back in the league as they held him to 38 yards and made him become a receiver basically. These last four games, the Bengals have been without Ja’Marr Chase and without him, you can’t run the same offensive attack because it’s tough to replicate his impact on the field. Without him, I noticed them leaning more on the running game and a short passing attack. Ja’Marr makes such an impact for this Cincinnati offense, and I say that because he’s one of the best red zone threats in the league and he shows weekly why he’s Joe Burrow’s go to guy for a reason. With the Ravens being so up and down, this is the perfect chance for them to take advantage and climb back to the top of the division. It was around this time when they got hot last season and the rest is history. On Sunday, they return home for a huge game in the conference.
Chiefs X-Factor: Frank Clark– He missed two games due to a suspension. When he’s on the field, he makes all the difference. Anyone that’s assigned to block Frank, he rips right through them. He always has it going and makes that key play when you need it the most. His presence on the edge is what allows Chris Jones to play at his natural place which is on the interior of the Defensive Line. Frank impacts the play in so many ways. He gets those hands up to bat the ball down, collapses the pocket and can hit the Quarterback.
Bengals X-Factor: Samaje Perine– With Joe Mixon’s status up in the air, the Bengals will be counting on Samaje to provide balance for this offense. When Mixon is healthy, Samaje serves as the short yardage specialist meaning he gets the football on short yardage situations and in the red zone on goal line situations. He’s shifty enough to work through traffic and break tackles in the open field. Since Joe has been sidelined, Samaje has stepped up big time for their offense. Don’t be shocked if the Bengals feed him the ball early.
Final Thoughts: They played in two of the best games of the entire season. The first took place during the regular season. The Chiefs were on a winning streak and the Bengals snapped it. They also won the AFC North with that victory. That was also the best game of Ja’Marr Chase’s young career as he recorded 266 yards receiving in the win. Weeks later, these two met again in the AFC Championship. The Chiefs looked to be in control, but they ended up blowing an 18-point lead and the Bengals shocked the world and advanced to the Super Bowl. Months later, here we are for round three. Turnovers are what crushed the Chiefs in the conference title game. Taking care of the ball will be crucial because the Bengals can make them pay for it. The Chiefs struggle to generate much of a pass rush and Defensive Coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo has dialed up a ton of blitz packages. This could cause trouble for the Chiefs facing this offense. On the Bengals side, how healthy will their offense be? Ja’Marr is expected to be back and Mixon is still questionable. Even with Ja’Marr used as a decoy, that will help stretch the defense and make it easier on whoever will run the ball. The Chiefs must find a way to get home with just four because Burrow has shown he can attack man coverage and get the ball out quickly.
Prediction: Bengals 30, Chiefs 27
