A pair of AFC teams will square off on Sunday in the National Football League. It is a must win for the Cincinnati Bengals, as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals are 8-7, but on the outside looking in for the AFC Playoff picture. The Bengals took a tough loss on Saturday to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cincinnati is in last place in the AFC North.
For Kansas City, they still need just one win to seal their spot as the AFC West champions. But, Kansas City lost at home to the Raiders on Christmas Day. The Chiefs are now 9-6 on the season. If the postseason started today, Kansas City would be the third seed. Kansas City is listed at -7 over Cincinnati in this game on Sunday.
Taylor Looking for Answers
Zac Taylor and his Cincinnati Bengals are in trouble. Despite their strong play with three straight games, the Bengals will need to win out, and may need help to get into the postseason. The Bengals have this game, and then will head home to take on the Browns after this.
Cincinnati is 11th in the National Football League in passing yards, with 239.4 per game. The struggles have come with the run game. The Bengals are dead last in the league with 82.7 yards per game. The biggest question mark for Cincinnati is the ability of JaMarr Chase to play in this game. Chase leads with 7 touchdowns on the season.
Jake Browning has come in and been strong under center. Last week was not a great outing for the inexperienced signal caller. But, on the season, Browning has 1,583 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Defending Champions Also Need Answers
For the Kansas City Chiefs, this has been a frustrating season, but with just one more win they are AFC West Champions. Patrick Mahomes has thrown for just shy of 4,000 yards on the season, with 26 touchdowns. The disappointment has been the 14 interceptions thrown by Mahomes.
Travis Kelce, the tight end for the Chiefs, has caught 90 passes for 968 yards and five touchdowns. The run game for Kansas City may be without Isiah Pacheco, who left the Week 16 loss. Pacheco has 805 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season.
Kansas City is just 4-4 at home this season. The Chiefs will go on the road in Week 18 and take on the Los Angeles Chargers, on the road.
Bengals Compete in Week 17
The Cincinnati Bengals are a desperate team. Without Joe Burrow, the Bengals have been up and down. In this game, they better be up. The Bengals have to win. For Kansas City, this has been a tough regular season, but they are going to make the postseason. This game does not matter as much to them, but they still would like to finish the job on the division, and start feeling better about life.
But, the spread seems too high. Kansas City has not been very good at home, and the Bengals are going to compete. We will not go as far as taking the Bengals to win straight up, but we are going to take the Bengals to cover the spread. Our final bet for this game is the Cincinnati Bengals +7 over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday!
