3 Keys To A Bengals Win Over KC

By Alex Schubert on December 29, 2023

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The Bengals’ matchup with the Chiefs this upcoming Sunday is by far their most important game of the year. A win will put Cincinnati right back in the playoff hunt, and it will give Jake Browning a major re-boost in confidence after the worst start of his young NFL career. On the other hand, a loss will make Cincinnati’s road to the playoffs next to impossible.

A Bengals loss, in addition to wins by Pittsburgh and Buffalo, will mathematically eliminate Cincinnati from the playoff hunt.

Here are our keys to a victory over the Chiefs.

Get under Patrick Mahomes’ skin

In years past, Patrick Mahomes has had free reign to dominate the NFL. At the peak of the Chiefs’ offense, he was able to lob passes to Tyreek Hill (a privilege now held by Tua Tagovailoa) and he was able to consistently hit Travis Kelce up the middle (a privilege now held by Taylor Swift).

This year, it’s been an entirely different story. The Chiefs lead the NFL in dropped passes with 39, with their top two pass catchers (Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice) combining for 15 of them. All of this has led to Mahomes showing visible anger on more than one occasion.

Patrick Mahomes is not happy: 😳

“Call the f—king play man”
pic.twitter.com/rWT43hTzUW

— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) December 25, 2023

This frustration has led to the Chiefs losing three out of their last four games. Their most recent loss was a 20-14 defeat at the Raiders, who scored exactly zero offensive touchdowns.

Raiders scored two defensive touchdowns in seven seconds….

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 25, 2023

When Patrick Mahomes plays like vintage Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs are unbeatable. When Patrick Mahomes is rattled, whether it be from lackluster play or him having to zig zag out of pressure, the Chiefs are prone to self destruction. He is also a quarterback who occasionally tries to do too much, partially because he has been able to be the kind of quarterback who can pull out the occasional magic trick.

Kansas City is also tied with Washington for the worst turnover margin in the NFL (-10), while Cincinnati is tied for fourth best margin (+8). Team interception leader Cam Taylor-Britt is likely to return from IR this weekend, and considering the stark difference in turnover margin, his return could not have come at a better time.

Take advantage of the Chiefs’ thin running back room

Cincinnati’s struggles to stop the run all year got significantly worse with the season ending injury to DJ Reader in Week 15. However, the Chiefs have a significantly banged up running back room that could make life easier for the Bengals this Sunday.

The #Chiefs say that RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness), CB L'Jarius Sneed (calf), RB Isiah Pacheco (concussion), LT Donovan Smith (neck) and WR Kadarius Toney (hip) won't practice on Thursday.

CB Jaylen Watson (illness) returns on Thursday. Sneed, Pacheco, Smith and Toney have…

— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) December 28, 2023

Pacheco suffered a concussion in the Chiefs’ loss to the Raiders and has missed both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practice, and is still in the concussion protocol. With the short week the Chiefs are playing on, Pacheco is in danger of missing Sunday’s game.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs’ first round pick from 2020, missed Thursday’s practice due to an illness. Friday’s injury report will likely shed light on his condition, but he is less likely to miss Sunday’s game than Pacheco. He may very well end up being the three down back for Kansas City. He’s struggled to stay consistent in that role during his career, which is why he’s been leapfrogged by Pacheco on the depth chart.

With Jerick McKinnon on IR, the only other healthy running back on the Chiefs’ roster other than CEH is La’Mical Perine.

Utilize Joe Mixon and Chase Brown to their full potential

The Chiefs have an absolutely stacked defense. This season, they’ve given up both the second fewest points and the second fewest passing yards. Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell had fewer passing yards against the Chiefs in Week 16 (62) than the Raiders had points scored against the Chargers in Week 15 (63).

What the Raiders did well (besides scoring two defensive touchdowns in a hilariously short amount of time) was lean heavily on running back Zamir White. While he didn’t find paydirt, he did rush for 145 yards on 22 carries, which was good for almost 6.6 yards per carry. 58 of those yards came on his final two carries of the game, and the first of those carries put the Raiders well into Chiefs’ territory.

Zamir White sticks a fork in KC w/ a 44 yd run! #Raiders #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/U1WaCEm7dI

— NYCRaider88 (@NYC_Raider88) December 27, 2023

While Kansas City has only allowed nine rushing touchdowns all year, they’ve allowed 4.6 yards per carry, which is fifth most in the NFL.

The Bengals now have experience with using Joe Mixon and Chase Brown in a tandem. Jake Browning may have a tough time getting things going against a Chiefs’ pass defense that has allowed the third fewest yards per attempt in the NFL, especially if Ja’Marr Chase isn’t healthy enough to play. Properly utilizing Mixon and Brown in a thunder and lightning operation would likely be enough to help the Bengals sustain drives and keep their offense moving and their struggling defense off the field.

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