Chiefs vs. Bengals, Week 17 preview

Can the Chiefs finally clinch the West? Here's our notes and picks for the week.

Wes Roesch

Key game details

Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Date: Sunday, Dec. 31
Time: 3:25 p.m. CT
Network/streaming: CBS, Paramount+
Radio: 106.5 The Wolf, Chiefs mobile app
Broadcasters: Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
Referee: John Hussey
Betting line via DraftKings: Chiefs -6.5 (-112), ML -310
Weather: Approx. 35°, partly cloudy, 10 mph winds, chance of rain 8%

Chiefs

Did not practice: RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (illness), RB Isiah Pacheco (concussion/shoulder), OT Donovan Smith (neck), CB L'Jarius Sneed (calf), WR Kadarius Toney (hip)

Limited participants: OG Trey Smith (ankle/knee)

Full participants: LB Nick Bolton (wrist/abdomen), S Mike Edwards (knee), WR Mecole Hardman (IR - thumb), CB Trent McDuffie (shoulder), DE Charles Omenihu (groin), CB Jaylen Watson (illness)

Game designations: Will release Friday afternoon

The Chiefs’ rough injury list keeps growing. Pacheco will likely miss another game after sustaining a concussion in Week 16. Sneed being on the injury report is concerning, considering he might be Kansas City’s best defensive player this year.

Bengals

Did not practice: None

Limited participants: WR Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder), CB Jalen Davis (groin), TE Mitchell Wilcox (foot)

Full participants: DE Cam Sample (knee), CB Cam Taylor-Britt (IR - ankle)

Game designations: Will release Friday afternoon

Chase and Taylor-Britt are the big ones to watch for, as both could return this weekend. The team has several stars on injured reserve as well, including quarterback Joe Burrow and defensive lineman D.J. Reader.

Notable Chiefs storylines for Week 17

Chiefs win = AFC West title… part II

The Chiefs had an opportunity to clinch their division in Week 16… but sadly that did not happen after a 20-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. On Christmas Day. Ouch. Luckily, the Chiefs have two more tries to clinch the division and likely clinch the No. 3 seed in the AFC. This would be a great week to do that, as K.C. could rest is starters in Week 18 following a win.

Ja’Marr Chase talking trash

The Bengals’ star receiver had some silly things to say this week. When asked what the Chiefs’ defense does that’s special, he said, “If I'm being honest, nothing… I mean, it's not really like they got a Jalen Ramsey on the squad.”



That’s a bold statement considering the Chiefs have two of the best cornerbacks in the league in Sneed and McDuffie, plus one of the best defensive linemen in Chris Jones. The Chiefs’ defense is top two in points and yards allowed per game, and is mostly the reason why K.C. is still in the thick of the playoff race this year. So it probably deserves a bit more respect, although maybe it’s better for the Chiefs that they’re being underestimated.

Maybe the offense needs to switch things up?

The Chiefs’ offense is… bad. We all watched how terrible it was on Monday. It keeps on making the same errors, and yet the team is still trotting the same players and schemes out there. Maybe it’s time to do things differently? Play Richie James and Justyn Ross more at receiver. Play Marquez Valdes-Scantling less. Much less. Try working the ground game more. Throw some fades or 50/50 balls. Anything is better than what we’ve seen.

Chiefs-Bengals best bets

I only hit on one bet last week: the Pacheco anytime touchdown. Betting on the Chiefs was much easier when the offense was actually good.

Chiefs DL Chris Jones over 0.25 sacks (-125)

The Bengals have allowed the ninth-most sacks (41) this season, and Jones needs 1.5 more sacks to unlock his 10-sack incentive. He might not have a chance to do that in Week 18, so this is the week for him to ball out. Only needing half a sack for this bet makes it even better.

Chiefs’ first drive result (granular): punt (+160)

This is a strange bet, but consider it. The Chiefs’ first drive has ended with a punt in three of their last six games. (For what it’s worth, the others were two field goal attempts and one interception.) The Chiefs’ offense has routinely started slow this season, and the return here is 1.6 times your money.



Either team to score 3 unanswered times: no (+140)

This is also a weird bet. A team scoring three unanswered times happens more often then you’d think, hence the long odds for “no,” but the fewer scores there are in a game, the less likely it is to happen. With as good as the Chiefs’ defense is and as poor as the offense has played, saying “no” here doesn’t seem like a bad bet. The over/under for total points is set at 44 so this one should be a mid-to-low scorer. If you need a game to reference, in the Chiefs’ 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills earlier this year, there wasn’t more than two unanswered scores.

Chiefs-Bengals matchup history

The Bengals lead the all-time series over the Chiefs 18-15 dating back to 1968. Kansas City has lost three of its last four games against Cincinnati, and is 1-1 against Cincy in the playoffs (both were AFC Championship Games).

The last time the Chiefs and Bengals played…

The Chiefs beat the Bengals 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game on January 29, 2023. Playing on an injured ankle, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 326 yards and two scores. His favorite target that day was, interestingly, Valdes-Scantling, who hauled in six catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.



The best Chiefs-Bengals game ever was…

Definitely the aforementioned AFC Championship Game from the 2022-23 season, though the AFCCG from the season before was a great game as well. Unfortunately the Chiefs weren’t able to close that game out, though, after being up 21-3 at one point in the game. The Chiefs lost 27-24 in overtime to the Bengals on January 30, 2022.