Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals Matchup Preview (1/2/22): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals Matchup Preview (1/2/22)

In week 17, the Kansas City Chiefs (11-4, first place in the AFC West) will play the Cincinnati Bengals (9-6, first place in the AFC North) at Paul Brown Stadium.  Kansas City is coming off a dominant 36-10 win over Pittsburgh in week 16.  Cincinnati beat Baltimore, 41-21 in a big division win last weekend.  The Chiefs have won eight straight games after starting the season 3-4.  The Bengals have won two games in a row and are 3-2 in their last five games.  Kansas City has scored at least 34 points in four of their last six games.  Cincinnati has scored 30 or more points in six games this season, their most in a season since 2015.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals Betting Odds

Kansas City is a 5-point road favorite over Cincinnati in week 17.  The Bengals are 8-7 against the spread this season; 4-4 at home.  The Chiefs are 6-0 against the spread in their last six games overall.  Over is 5-0 in Bengals last five games following a straight up win.  Kansas City is averaging 29.1 points over their eight-game winning streak.  The Bengals are 57-6-2 in games when scoring 25 or more points since 2011.

My Prediction: This a tremendous matchup between Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, it’s possible we can see over 750 passing yards in this game.  Each team’s defense has been playing well, but both quarterbacks are playing at an extremely high level.  I’m going to go with the Chiefs winning this game 42-34, covering the five points and going over 50 points.  

TV Schedule

Date: 1/2/22
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Location: Paul Brown Stadium
TV Coverage: CBS

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cincinnati Bengals Live Stream

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Kansas City Chiefs Analysis

In 2021, the Chiefs are averaging 396.1 total yards of offense per game, third in the league and averaging 28.1 points per game, which is fourth in the NFL.

In the week 16, victory over Pittsburgh, Patrick Mahomes threw for 258 yards, three touchdowns, completed 76.7% of his passes with a 135.1 passer rating.  The Super Bowl LIV MVP has thrown at least three touchdown passes in a game, 28 times in his career.  Per NFL.com, including playoffs, the Chiefs are 27-5 when scoring a TD on their first offensive possession since Mahomes became a starter in week 17 of the 2017 season. On the season, he has thrown for 4,310 yards, 33 touchdowns while completing 66.1% of his passes.  During Kansas City’s eight game winning streak, the Chiefs field general has thrown 15 touchdown passes and four interceptions.  Named to his fourth Pro-Bowl last week, he has thrown 147 touchdowns passes in 61 career games.  The 2018 NFL MVP is +1100 to win the 2021 NFL MVP

Tyreek Hill is leading the Chiefs in receiving with 104 catches for 1,197 yards and nine touchdowns.  Named to his sixth Pro-Bowl he’s averaging 79.8 receiving yards per game.  He has four 1,000-yard seasons in his career.  Byron Pringle stepped up in the victory against Pittsburgh catching six passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.  On the season he has 34 receptions averaging 14 yards per catch.  Travis Kelce was out of the lineup in week 17 due to COVID-19, he’s questionable for the matchup against the Bengals.  In his last game (week 15 against the Chargers) he was an absolute beast with 10 catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns.  The Pro-Bowl tight end has had 100 yards receiving in four games this season and has gone over 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth consecutive season.  He’s averaging 76.1 receiving yards per game and is one of the toughest players to cover in the league.

The Chiefs rushing attack his averaging 111 rushing yards per game.  Clyde Edwards-Helaire has scored four rushing touchdowns in his last five games; he hadn’t had a touchdown in his previous eight games.  He injured his collarbone in the win over the Steelers but is expected back this season; he’s unlikely to play in week 17.  The first-round pick in 2020 is Kansas City’s leading rusher with 517 yards; averaging 51.7 rushing yards per game. 

The Kansas City defense is allowing 362.2 yards of total offense per game, which is 21^st in the league and 20.4 points per game ranking them fifth in the NFL.

The Chiefs have at least two takeaways in seven straight games for the first time since Weeks 6-13 in the 2015 season.  Kansas City is 10-2 this season in games with at least one takeaway.  As a team the Chiefs have 15 interceptions, Tyrann Mathieu leads the squad with three interceptions this season.

Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Derrick Gore
RB2: Darrel Williams
WR1: Mecole Hardman
WR2: Tyreek Hill
TE1: Travis Kelce

Cincinnati Bengals Analysis

The Bengals are the first team in NFL history to have a 4,000-yard passer (Joe Burrow), 1,000-yard rusher (Joe Mixon) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins) all 25 or younger in the same season.  

In the victory over the Ravens in week 16, Joe Burrow threw for the third most yards in a single game in NFL history with 525; Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams has the most passing yards in a game with 554 in 1951.  It was the most passing yards in a game by any quarterback since 2012.  He also threw four touchdowns and completed 80.4% of his passes with a 143.2 passer rating in the win.  Burrow has had a passer rating of at least 120 in five games this season.  The number one pick in the 2020 draft, is the third quarterback in Bengals history with 40 or more touchdown passes in their first two seasons.  In 2021, Cincinnati’s young signal caller has thrown for 4,165 yards, 30 touchdowns while completing 69.9% of his passes with a quarterback rating of 105.  Burrow has at least two touchdown passes in 10 games this season, the most by a Bengals quarterback since 2013.  

Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are the only wide receiver duo with 1,000 receiving yards each this season.  The rookie Chase leads the Bengals in receiving yards (1,163) and touchdowns catches (10) this season.  He’s also second on the team in catches with 68 averaging a whopping 17.1 yards per reception.  In week 16 he had six catches of 15 yards or more; he totaled 125 receiving yards in the game against the Ravens.  The LSU product has four 100-yards receiving games this season.  Tee Higgins was an absolute monster in the win over the Ravens last weekend.  He had 12 catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns.  In his second season, he leads Cincinnati in receptions with 71 and is second on the team in receiving yards with 1,029.  Higgins has 75 receiving yards or more in six of his last eight games.   He has six touchdowns on the season with at least one touchdown reception in three of his last five games. 

Joe Mixon is second in the league in rushing with 1,159 yards: averaging 77.3 yards per game in 2021.  He has scored 16 touchdowns overall this season, tying Pete Johnson (1981) for the most touchdowns among running backs in a season in Bengals’ history.  The former Oklahoma Sooner has at least 100 yards from scrimmage 23 times in his career. 

Cincinnati is allowing 21.6 points per game and 344.9 yards of total offense to their opponents this season which is 16^th in the league.

Trey Hendrickson leads the team with 14 sacks, the most among Bengals players in a season since at least 1982.  Per NFL.com, he has at least 0.5 sacks in 11 straight games, the longest streak within a season since at least 1982.  Additionally, Hendrickson has 12 tackles for loss and 25 quarterback hits.  Defensive end Sam Hubbard is second on the team in sacks with 7.5 and has 12 tackles for loss in 2021.

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 vs. Cincinnati Bengals Daily Fantasy Picks

Overshadowed by Chase and Higgins, wide receiver Tyler Boyd is another extremely dangerous player in Cincinnati’s offense.  He has 63 catches for 792 yards and four touchdowns.  Boyd has gone over 70 yards receiving in five games this season.  Against Baltimore he had three receptions for 85 yards: averaging 28.3 yards a reception.

Running back Derrick Gore is a player who could benefit with Clyde Edwards-Helaire missing time due to injury.  In the win against Pittsburgh, he had 104 yards from scrimmage (43 rushing and 61 receiving).  He’s averaging 4.6 yards per rushing attempt and 13.9 yards per reception this season.