Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (9-6)
January 2, 2022 1:00 pm EDT
The Line: Cincinnati Bengals +5 / Kansas City Chiefs -5; Over/Under: -49.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs clash Sunday in a crucial week 17 NFL showdown from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
The Kansas City Chiefs will try to add to their 36-10 win over Pittsburgh last time out to add to their current eight-game winning streak. Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 4,310 yards, 33 touchdowns and 13 interceptions on 66.1% passing while Clyde Edward-Helaire has a team-high 517 rushing yards and Darrel Williams has 453 rushing yards with 4 touchdowns apiece this season.Tyreek Hill leads the Chiefs in receiving with 104 catches for 1,197 yards and 9 touchdowns while Travis Kelce has 83 grabs for 1,066 yards with 7 scores. Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle and the aforementioned Williams each have 400+ receiving yards as well this season. On defense, Nick Bolton leads the Chiefs with 102 total tackles while Chris Jones has a team-high 7 sacks and Tyrann Mathieu has a team-high 3 interceptions as well this season.
The Cincinnati Bengals will look to add to a 41-21 win over the Baltimore Ravens in their last game. Joe Burrow has thrown for 4,165 yards, 30 TDs and 14 INTs on 69.9% passing while Joe Mixon leads the Bengals in rushing with 1,199 rushing yards and 13 TDs. Ja’Marr Chase leads the Bengals in receiving with 68 grabs for 1,163 yards and 10 TDs while Tee Higgins has 1,029 receiving yards with 6 scores and Tyler Boyd has 792 receiving yards as well this year. On defense, Logan Wilson and Vonn Bell each have a team-high 92 total tackles with Wilson logging 4 interceptions while Trey Hendrickson has a team-high 14 sacks and Sam Hubbard and Larry Ogunjobi each have 7+ sacks as well this season.
Kansas City is 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS win while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games against the AFC. Cincinnati is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games following a win.
I get the case that could be made either way in this one as you have two of the top teams in the AFC going head-to-head here. However, I’m leaning towards the over here as I could easily see a 30-27 or 33-27 kind of game whichever way you slice it in what could be a playoff preview. Give me the over here.
