Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs Matchup Preview (1/30/22): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs Matchup Preview (1/30/22)

Well, well, well, Mr. Burrow and the Bengals live to see another day. Most people had probably not planned on the Bengals making it to the AFC Championship, yet here they are, and according to Joe Burrow, they plan on staying around to see the Super Bowl. They are coming off a huge statement game where they took down a healthy Derrick Henry and the No. 1 seeded Tennessee Titans. This is their first AFC Championship appearance in 33 years. In a tale of two opposites, the Chiefs have also found themselves in the AFC championship game for the fourth straight year and lived up to their AFC-favorite expectations. They took down the Bills last week in one of the best football games I’ve ever seen in my life. 13 is their new lucky number – that’s how many seconds it took for them to come back and win the game against the best defense in the league. If any team deserves to be in the AFC championship for a fourth straight year, it’s probably the Chiefs after last week’s game. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) is giving the Chiefs the edge in this game, giving them a 69.6% chance that they beat the Bengals. They’re giving the Bengals a mere 30.4% chance to beat the Chiefs again. 

These teams faced off in week 16 and the Bengals beat the Bills 34-31 on a solid defensive performance that held an offense-heavy Chiefs to just 3 points in the second half. Their defense played remarkably, holding Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to a combined 65 yards, and Joe Burrow threw for 446 yards, 4 touchdowns and zero interceptions, boasting a 148 passer rating. This game snapped a huge win streak for the Chiefs and took them out of the No. 1 AFC seed so I’m sure they’re coming in with a chip on their shoulder

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs Betting Odds

The Chiefs are a 7-point favorite in this game with a 54.5 point total. The Chiefs have averaged 42 points in the postseason so far between their blowout of the Steelers and their wild game against the Bills last week. The Bengals are averaging just 22.5 points per game in the playoffs but put up 34 against a weak Chiefs defense when they played in the regular season. The Chiefs are hosting at Arrowhead, which bodes well for them where they are 9-2 on the season. However the Bengals can’t be counted out: they are 6-3 on the road this year and 4-2 as the road underdog, contributing to their 5-1 record as the away underdog this year. The Bengals have also covered in their last six games. The Chiefs have a mediocre ATS record (8-9 in the regular season) considering how they started their season, but their ability to produce a high scoring game is impressive. After their game against Buffalo last week, they have now hit the over in seven straight games. Meanwhile, the Bengals have hit the under in three straight games. 

The whole world has to be rooting for Joe Burrow right now (besides the Chiefs) given what he has accomplished as a second-year quarterback in this franchise. As much as I’d like to see his success continue, I think it’ll probably end here. Patrick Mahomes and his lethal offense is near impossible to beat when they are on, especially in the playoffs (last week was a good example). They put up 42 points against the best defense in the league last week somehow managing a win over an almost-perfect Josh Allen. I’m hoping for the Bengals but accepting the Chiefs.

My predictions: Chiefs win 35-24, Chiefs cover, over 54.5

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, January 30
Time: 3:00 PM ET
Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, MO
TV Coverage: CBS

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs Live Stream

Where can you watch Bengals vs. Chiefs online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Bengals vs. Chiefs Free Online Now.

Cincinnati Bengals Analysis

Last week’s win over the Titans made Joe Burrow the first quarterback taken No. 1 overall, to win a divisional game in his first two seasons. To get them there, Burrow threw for 348 yards, Joe Mixon had 105 all-purpose yards including a touchdown, and the Bengals defense picked off Ryan Tannehill three times. There were times it wasn’t pretty, but they got the job done. But perhaps the biggest MVP of this game was none other than Evan McPherson who, as time expired, kicked a 54 yard field goal to win the game. He accounted for 68% of their points last weekend with four field goals and an extra point. In fact, in the postseason, he has scored 27 points, which accounts for over half of their total points as an offense. The biggest downer of the game was watching Joe Burrow get sacked. Nine. Times. This remains to be their biggest problem as a franchise. Lucky for them, the Chiefs ranked third-to-last in sack rate in the regular season, so that should help Burrow stay on his feet.

The strategy for this team is simple. Throw the ball. This passing offense has the highest completion percentage in the league. Whether it’s Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, or C.J. Uzomah, put the ball in the air and try to exploit any part of this mediocre defense. I don’t see their issue lying on what they can do on offense because they’ve proved that they have several weapons to be dangerous to defenses, especially one like the Chiefs. The problem will be containing the Chiefs on defense and keeping pace with their offense. 

Their run defense has played well for most of the regular season but dipped off towards the end and have struggled to defend against the run in the postseason. They gave up 155 rushing yards to the Chiefs in week 16 and 140 rushing yards last week against the Titans. Their pass defense is also typically of concern however last week’s performance limited Tannehill to 220 yards in the air and three interceptions. They held the Titans to just 16 points (one touchdown) and their defense has held teams to an average of 17.5 points per game in the postseason thus far. This defense has the second lowest fourth down conversion rate so it’ll be a good matchup for a Chiefs offense who has the second highest.

Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

QB: Joe Burrow
RB1: Joe Mixon
RB2: Samaje Perine
WR1: Ja’Marr Chase
WR2: Tee Higgins
WR3: Tyler Boyd
TE1: C.J. Uzomah
TE2: Drew Sample

Kansas City Chiefs Analysis

Thirteen seconds is no time at all…unless you’re Patrick Mahomes. As time expired on the clock and Bills Mafia relished in getting their comeback from last year’s AFC Championship, the Chiefs did what the Chiefs do, and they pulled it off in the last thirteen seconds of the game. In the last two minutes of the game, Mahomes completed 10 of his 13 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He threw for 378 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions last week and led this offense to a stellar performance – one of their best of the year. This all happened to be against one of the best defenses in the league this year. If the Bills can’t contain them, can anyone? In the playoffs alone, they’re averaging 371 yards per game, 144 of which are rushing yards, and 42 points per game. 

On defense, they have little to show for and certainly didn’t “contain” Josh Allen even though they won. They will however have an easier time controlling the Bengals offense than they did the Bills which is grounds for positivity. But their secondary will have deep threats like Higgins and Chase to worry about and that’s enough work to be nervous about. They have one of the worst fourth down conversion rates as a defensive unit and the Bengals have one of the best as an offense so they’ll have to minimize mistakes down the stretch that prevents them from progressing. Again, this defense won’t win them this game, but their steadfastness and efficiency as an offense will. If they win, it would take them to their third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Jerrick McKinnon
RB2: Clyde Edwards-Helaire
WR1: Tyreek Hill
WR2: Byron Pringle
WR3: Mecole Hardman
TE1: Travis Kelce