Can Kansas City Figure Out Its Offense Against A Weak Bengals Defense?
The Bengals vs Chiefs Preview Includes Our Favorite Bet In This AFC Matchup
The Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs in a late afternoon showdown on CBS.
The Bengals watched their three-game winning streak snap after a 34-11 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That pushed Cincinnati to 8-7 on the NFL season.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have lost three of their last four games and are now 9-6 on the season. This is the first season where the Chiefs have looked like a mid-tier team in the NFL under Patrick Mahomes.
After losses from both teams in Week 16, which team will get back on track on Sunday?
Oddsmakers believe it’ll be the Chiefs. Kansas City is a 7-point favorite, with the total at 44.5 for this NFL matchup in Kansas City.
Although the Bengals are in playoff position, they’re without Joe Burrow and didn’t have Ja’Marr Chase last week. However, it sounds like Chase is making progress and could play this week after a shoulder injury a couple of weeks ago.
That could only help Cincinnati.
Review our Bengals vs Chiefs preview for Sunday’s massive AFC matchup.
Bengals vs Chiefs 
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Bengals vs Chiefs Preview
The Bengals have covered only six of 15 games this season. Cincinnati has pushed two games and has lost seven against the spread this season.
However, the Bengals have hit the Over in nine of 15 games this year.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have hit the Under in ten of 15 games. They’ve also been better on the road than at home, as they’ve only won three of seven games at home this year.
Kansas City also has a losing record against the spread, covering only seven of 15 games on the season.
Typically, the Bengals have had Kansas City’s number. The Bengals earned three straight wins before the Chiefs added a 23-20 win over the Bengals in last year’s playoffs in January. Obviously, Cincinnati is without Joe Burrow this time around.
Ja’Marr Chase Could Play On Sunday
Ja’Marr Chase is dealing with a shoulder injury that he sustained against the Minnesota Vikings in mid-December. He was forced to sit out last week’s game against Pittsburgh, and when he didn’t play, the Bengals scored only 11 points and lost in a blowout.
He’s certainly needed, as the Bengals are still in the NFL playoff hunt with an 8-7 record.
Therefore, Chase is trying to prepare and recover for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. He was already seen on the practice field doing light work and is seriously trying to play in this game.
Time will tell, but he’s putting in all the effort to play in Week 17.
Who Is To Blame For Kansas City’s Offensive Woes?
The Chiefs scored just 14 points against the Las Vegas Raiders last week in a 20-14 loss at home. Kansas City’s offense has added no more than 19 points in three of their previous five games.
That’s not like a Patrick Mahomes-led offense.
Travis Kelce spoke on his podcast and explained that everybody isn’t being accountable at some point.
He went on a rent talking about how somebody is not doing their job in every single play. Sometimes it’s him, sometimes it’s other players.
Some of it is because of the lack of preparation or the lack of confidence to understand what the defensive coverages look like.
The Chiefs have been in the media for many reasons that don’t include football. Kelce has been dating Taylor Swift, and some believe she’s one of the reasons for the downfall.
The whole NFL team is apparently accountable. If the Chiefs struggle against Cincinnati, you can forget about a Super Bowl ring this year.
Kansas City’s Ready To Explode
The Chiefs have lost three of their last five games and are now 9-6 on the season. But that loss to the Raiders, with Las Vegas not even completing a pass after the first quarter, was a major wakeup call.
Kansas City has dealt with many NFL injuries on offense. They also don’t have reliable targets like in other years. But Patrick Mahomes is supposed to make everyone else around him better.
Kadarius Toney has instead looked like the worst wide receiver in the game. Now he’s injured and questionable for this game after missing last week’s game. Meanwhile, other players like Jerrick McKinnon didn’t play last weekend, and Isiah Pacheco is also injured heading into Week 17.
But every team goes through it. Ja’Marr Chase didn’t play last weekend for the Bengals and might not return this week. Meanwhile, the Bengals are also without Joe Burrow, who has led the Bengals into the playoffs each year he was healthy.
If Chase is back, the Bengals will be in good shape. Cincinnati added 27 points against Minnesota, earned 34 points against the Colts, and added another 34 points against the Jaguars in three straight weeks before their loss to the Steelers. The offense can still put in work with Chase being healthy.
On the other hand, the Chiefs are returning to the drawing board, letting out some frustration, and will be ready to go against a Bengals team with one of the worst defenses in the NFL. If you took away the pass rush for the Bengals, Cincinnati would have the worst defense in the NFL.
Mahomes will slice up that Cincinnati secondary.
The NFL oddshave the Bengals and Chiefs with a 44.5 total. However, previous NFL stats indicate that the Over will hit.
After reviewing the Bengals vs Chiefs preview, we think the NFL game score will be high-scoring. Take the Over 44.5 (-110) for this matchup.
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