AFC Championship Bengals vs Chiefs Predictions, Odds, Picks

• QB Joe Burrow’s Bengals won last week despite him being sacked 9 times
• Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw for 378 yards & 3 TDs against Bills’ top pass defense
• Kansas City has won their last eight home games at Arrowhead Stadium

Bengals vs Chiefs Odds

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Tough to figure out who the Cincinnati Bengals’ playoff MVP is so far – rookie placekicker Evan McPherson who kicked the game-winner over the Titans last week, or QB Joe Burrow, who used his receivers (Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, TE C.J. Uzomah) effectively despite getting sacked nine times and intercepted once, regardless they will have their hands full in Arrowhead.

Ja’Marr Chase also features our list of the best prop bets for the Conference Championship. Check it out.

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes worked multiple miracles last week while throwing for 378 yards and three touchdowns with no picks against the Bills’ top-ranked pass defense while a healthy RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to give the Chiefs’ rushing attack a much-needed boost, a combination that HC Andy Reid will use to test the Bengals 18th ranked defense.

These two AFC rivals have played each other 30 prior times, with the Kansas City Chiefs winning 14 of those games and the Cincinnati Bengals winning 16 of the games. Make sure you check out our top predictions and picks for the season’s Conference Championship Round!

Cincinnati Bengals vs Kansas City Chiefs Predictions

Can the Bengals’ Defense Find an Answer for Mahomes?

The Bengals’ defense no doubt watched Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes lead his team down the field in thirteen seconds to put last week’s playoff game into overtime, so they know they are about to face a playmaker who has full control of his offense and the game clock.

Cincinnati’s defense was ranked 18th in the league at the end of the regular season after allowing opponents to gain over 350 yards per game, a squad that allowed the teams they played to score just over 22 points per game, seventeenth best out of all thirty-two franchise.

The Bengals are a top-5 defense against the run, but that only half-helps against Mahomes, who can scramble with the best of them, and that same Cincy defense is ranked 26th against the pass, so rising up and neutralizing Mahomes (somehow?) could be the key to an underdog win.

Can the Chiefs Secondary Handle Ja’Marr Chase as a Deep Threat?

Last offseason, when the Bengals’ front office grabbed a receiver instead of an offensive lineman in the NFL Draft, many skeptics thought they had made a mistake by failing to protect their invaluable franchise QB Joe Burrow, as the nine sacks last week can attest.

But that receiver Cincinnati snagged – Ja’Marr Chase – turned out to be a rookie ace, and now KC’s secondary will be expected to put a halt to what the 4th ranked receiver in the league has been up to, which is running crisp routes and making contested catches and scoring often.

It will be up to Chiefs’ safeties (Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill) to help double team Chase in the open field because with his speed and quickness, it could be too much to ask of the cornerbacks (Mike Hughes and Charvarius Ward) to cover him one on one.

Bengals Key Player: (QB) Joe Burrow

One of the main reasons the Cincinnati Bengals have won their first playoff games in over three decades is because they have a franchise QB, Joe Burrow, who is not only uber-talented, but he also has an exceptional football IQ and the ability to lead his teammates through anything.

Burrow seems to have it all, including the ability to come back fully healthy from the knee injury that took him out for most of last season, a hiccup that has not seemed to bother the 6’ 4” 221-pound playmaker one bit as he carried the ball 40 times for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns.

It’s Burrows arm that is the most dangerous, however, his ability to unleash his cannon an impressive thing to watch, with 366 completions for 4,611 yard and 34 touchdowns with 14 interceptions for a league-leading 70.4 completion percentage in the regular season.

Chiefs Key Player: (RB) Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Because of a serious knee issue, Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been on and off the field this season, and fortunately for Kansas City’s playoff hopes, this former LSU star is back on the field and already making a difference for HC Andy Reid’s offense.

Edwards-Helaire is in his second NFL season, and the 5’ 8”, 209-pound dual-threat is already forcing the pro defenses he is facing to adjust their game plans, this young playmaker with 138 total touches for 646 yards from scrimmage and 6 total touchdowns in ten games this season.

Watch for Edwards-Helaire at the start of the game especially when he will be used to establish the Chiefs’ run game to give a counterbalance to QB Mahomes’ passing attack, and then watch for Clyde to play big in the 4th quarter when the Cincy defense might be too tired to tackle him.

Previous AFC Championship Winners

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How to Watch Bengals vs Chiefs