W2L4: Bengals Look To Quiet The Arrowhead Noise, Make One Final Playoff Push vs. Chiefs

Bengals (8-7) at Chiefs (9-6), Sunday, Dec. 31 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (natural grass), 4:25 p.m. ET, TV: CBS (National), WKRC-TV Ch. 12 (Cincinnati), Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson. Radio: Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham. 700 WLW-AM, WEBN-FM (102.7 FM), ESPN1530. National: Compass Media: Bill Rosinski, Steve Beuerlein.

CINCINNATI — The Bengals have one last gasp.

Following an embarrassing display two days before Christmas in Pittsburgh, the Bengals look to remain in the running for a spot in the AFC postseason when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead on Sunday. Cincinnati had its three-game winning streak snapped in a 34-11 loss at Acrisure Stadium.

Three straight victories lifted the Bengals from a 5-6 record entering December to an 8-6 mark and sixth place in the conference standings. But in a pivotal AFC North Division matchup on Saturday afternoon, the Steelers jumped out to a 24-0 halftime lead and did not look back. Though the loss leaves Cincinnati with little room for error as it looks to secure a third consecutive playoff berth, head coach Zac Taylor remains confident his team will respond in the final two weeks of the regular season.

“We don’t overreact,” said Taylor after the loss at Pittsburgh. “We’ve done some really good things the last couple of weeks. Today wasn’t a great experience for us. We know what the narrative will be going forward, and so we just own up to it, be accountable to it and be ready to put our best foot forward next week at Kansas City.”

While in much better position in the weak AFC West, the Chiefs come in reeling, having lost three of four overall and an unthinkable three straight at home. Including the 21-14 “home” win over Miami in Germany, the Chiefs haven’t won at Arrowhead since Oct. 22 against the LA Chargers.

Bengals have beaten the Chiefs in seven of their last nine meetings, including the 2021 AFC Championship at Arrowhead.

The two teams have developed an intense rivalry, as witnessed by the comments from Ja’Marr Chase this week.

Cincinnati totaled 368 offensive net yards and drove inside the Pittsburgh 35-yard line four times, but came away with points in just one of those instances. Jake Browning, who over the past month had emerged as one of the NFL’s most prolific passers, finished the game with 335 passing yards, though his three INTs proved to be crucial.

The Bengals made it a two-score game early in the second half when Tee Higgins caught a slant pass from Browning and took it 80 yards to the end zone, and a successful two-point conversion cut Cincinnati’s deficit to 24-8. Pittsburgh quickly answered, however, as QB Mason Rudolph connected with George Pickens for his second big-play TD of the day — a 66-yarder, after snagging an 86-yarder in the first quarter. Pickens finished with 195 receiving yards.

Cincinnati now turns to Kansas City — another familiar road environment. Sunday marks a rematch of the past two AFC Championships, which both were three-point decisions at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bengals won 27-24 in overtime following the 2021 season to punch their ticket to the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years, and the Chiefs came away with a 23-20 victory following the ’22 campaign en route to a Super Bowl LVII title.

This week’s contest comes at a critical juncture for both teams, as Cincinnati can potentially jump back into a Wild Card slot with a win while Kansas City tries to build its lead in the AFC West Division. The Chiefs have lost three of their last four games, including their most recent outing against Las Vegas on Christmas Day, but enter Week 17 still in contention for the conference’s No. 2 seed.

“It’s a big game,” Taylor said. “There’s still a lot on the line. We’ve got a lot to play for. It’s always going to be a tough environment. We always seem to play there at this time of year with the weather and the conditions, and so we’re used to those elements of it. We know what the atmosphere is going to be like. Our guys will be excited to go out there and play.”

The Bengals lead the series 18-15 overall, with the two teams tied in postseason, 1-1. Cincinnati has won seven of the last nine meetings, including three of the four most recent contests (all three of those wins occurred in the calendar year of 2022). The Bengals are 8-10 overall at Kansas City. And in games played in Cincinnati, they own a 10-5 mark and have won six straight in Cincinnati dating back to 1987.

This weekend’s game will mark the fifth meeting in the past three seasons between the two non-division opponents. That stretch includes the last two AFC Championships, both played in Kansas City. Cincinnati won the first of those championship contests 27-24 in overtime on Jan. 30, 2022 to advance to Super Bowl LVI. The Chiefs won the second 23-20 on Jan. 29 this year to advance to Super Bowl LVII.

The Bengals’ first game of any kind was against the Chiefs, in Cincinnati’s inaugural preseason contest, played Aug. 3, 1968 at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati campus. The Chiefs won that preseason game, 38-14.

The Bengals began regular-season play in 1968 as co-members with Kansas City in the American Football League’s Western Division, and the teams played each other twice in both 1968 and ’69.

Here’s what to look for:

• Jake Browning, Bengals offensive line vs. Chris Jones:

Chris Jones was the single-biggest reason the Chiefs wrecked Joe Burrow and Cincinnati’s offensive game plan last January in the AFC title game. He was all over the field and constantly applied pressure, making it a long day for a make-shift offensive line, which included Max Scharping and Jackson Carman. The Bengals need to find a way to keep Jones in check if they are to have any prayer of pulling the upset Sunday and managing the flow of the game, which they failed at miserably in Pittsburgh.

“I mean he’s one of the, if not arguably the top player as an interior defensive lineman (in football),” offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “Him and Aaron Donald probably are the two most disruptive guys that we’ve faced certainly and you know and he moves all over the place he lines up left and right, lines guys up on the edge. He’s a force. He’s hard to block one on one. So he gets one on one. Opportunities tends to win most of those. We try not to give him as many as you can, but it’s also hard to keep track of him because he moves from different spots. But yeah, he’s an incredibly disruptive player, one of the few true game wreckers on a front, especially as an interior player.”

• Bengals offensive line, run game vs. Chiefs DL:

The Bengals again relied too heavily on the pass game to kick start their offense in Pittsburgh. The run game was non-existent, as it was in the first meeting with the Steelers. Chase Brown had six touches against the Steelers after lighting it up against the Colts and Vikings. That can’t happen again and the Bengals have a chance to win. The Raiders showed on Christmas Day (Zamir White 22 carries/145 yards) what happens when you run the ball effectively. Tee Higgins made reference to it Thursday. Zac Taylor and Brian Callahan have referenced “complementary football” all week. One would figure Joe Mixon and Chase Brown will have a bigger role this week.

• Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins vs. Chiefs DBs:

Chase is expected to return this week, re-uniting with Tee Higgins to give Jake Browning the 1-2 punch the offense desperately needs to stretch defenses. With Chase going off this week on the Chiefs secondary and what he feels is just an ordinary defense, it’ll be interesting to see how physical the Chiefs decide to get with Chase and whether one side or the other can get in the head of their opponent. Chase is coming off a shoulder injury. Will he be able to make all the athletic catches he’s accustomed to making? The Bengals are 7-3 this season when they have both Chase and Higgins in the lineup. The Chiefs may not have L’Jarius Sneed due to a calf injury and Bryan Cook is on injured reserve so the Chiefs secondary, while fast, is young and inexperienced. Sneed is questionable.

• Isiah Pacheco vs. Bengals DL :

The Bengals are playing their second game without DJ Reader. Josh Tupou was the first choice at nose while Jay Tufele also saw eight snaps. Zach Carter served as a 3-technique tackle. Pacheco is capable of doing big-time damage with one of the NFL’s premiere interior offensive line units in Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Pacheco was limited Friday and is questionable with a concussion and a shoulder injury. The Bengals catch a break as starting left tackle Donovan Smith is out with a neck injury.

• Patrick Mahomes vs. Bengals D:

The Bengals defense needs a bounceback game in the worst way. Facing Mahomes and an angry and frustrated Chiefs offense doesn’t seem like what the doctor would order but they have no choice. Can they keep Mahomes from getting into groove with Travis Kelce, who was blanketed everywhere he went Monday. He had just five catches for 44 yards. Keep a very close eye on rookie Rashee Rice, the SMU product who has quickly become a Mahomes fave. He caught six passes on 12 targets for 56 yards against the Raiders. This becomes even more relevant as Kadarius Toney is out with a hip injury.

• Bottom Line:

The Bengals have simply been too inconsistent this season to predict them winning a must-have game on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions, with the champs desperate to find their own groove before another anticipated playoff run. Backed into a corner, it’s impossible to go against Mahomes, Kelce and Pacheco.

Chiefs 31, Bengals 17