Key Matchups: Cincinnati Bengals Host Kansas City Chiefs As Playoff Push Begins

Cincinnati is hoping to improve to 8-4 on the season.

Author:
Nicole Zembrodt
Updated:
Dec 3, 2022 9:22 AM EST
Original:
Dec 3, 2022

In this story:

It's officially playoff push time for all teams in the postseason hunt as the calendar has turned to December.

Kansas City enters Week 13 as the AFC's top seed at 9-2. The Bengals are 7-4 and sitting in the sixth seed. They're tied with Baltimore for first place in the AFC North.

Both the Chiefs and the Bengals are playing their best football right now. Kansas City has won five in a row. They have scored the most points so far this season (326) led by Patrick Mahomes.

The Bengals went undefeated in November (3-0) for the first time since 1982. They're coming off their most impressive win of the season against a dominant Titans team.

Cincinnati finds themselves in another revenge game environment this week. The Chiefs are looking to bounce back from their regular season and AFC Championship game losses to the Bengals last season.

Things have been heated between the two teams this week leading up to the highly anticipated contest, so who will get the last say when the clock hits zero come Sunday?

Let's take a look at this week's matchups to watch:

Matchup of the Game: Joe Burrow vs. Patrick Mahomes

Burrow and Mahomes are two of the biggest names in the NFL, leading two of the hottest teams in the league right now.

Mahomes is currently the front-runner for this year's MVP.

The Chiefs lead the NFL in points per game (29.6), yards per game (430), yards per play (6.5) and third down conversion percentage (51.2%) this season. The last team do lead in all four of those categories was the 2001 Rams. The 1999-2001 Rams were known as "The Greatest Show on Turf."

Burrow has bounced back from a shaky start to the season and continues to climb into the MVP conversation. A win this week would certainly boost those chances.

Sunday's game will be the third time these teams have met in 12 months. Burrow has had Mahomes' number in both meetings last season.

The Bengals star has led his team to victory in both games, averaging 348 passing yards in the process. He's thrown for six touchdowns, one interception, and posted a 117.7 passer rating. Mahomes posted 267.0 passing yards per game, five touchdowns, two interceptions, and 102.0 passer rating.

As the nature of this game was discussed this week, Tyler Boyd compared Burrow and Mahomes as this generation's Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning.

Burrow vs. Mahomes very much has the makings of the early stages of the classic quarterback clash. Those battled consisted of electric offenses and must-watch football.

Sunday's game will be nothing short of a shootout led by these two quarterbacks as they make a mark in the next chapter of this budding rivalry.

Bengals Pass Defense vs. Travis Kelce

Kelce is having one of the best seasons of his career. Among all receivers, he has 12 touchdowns (1st), 912 receiving yards (6th), 73 catches (7th), and 56 first downs (3rd).

The tight end's 12 touchdowns is tied with or more than ten teams in the NFL.

Kelce finds ways to get open with his elite route running, footwork, and ability to read how defenses attack him.

The Bengals used eight different defenders to guard Kelce in their matchups last season. He was held to 120 yards and two touchdowns total in both of those games.

As defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo made adjustments in those games last season, particularly the AFC Championship, he dropped eight men into coverage with just three pass rushers.

Anarumo said Sunday's game will be different, but depending how Mahomes, Kelce, and the Chiefs offense start, Cincinnati could find themselves making the same adjustments as the previous contests.

The variances of defensive backs and linebacker coverages against Kelce will all be seen as Anarumo does whatever it takes to slow down the future Hall of Famer.

Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa vs. Chris Jones

Jones is on pace for his best year as a pro. He could be in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year by the end of the season.

The defensive tackle has 10 sacks, 28 pressures, and the second-highest pass rushing grade (92.0) per Pro Football Focus. Jones is second to Aaron Donald to pass rush win rate while being double teamed.

“He’s the best interior pass rusher in the league, I think, outside of Aaron Donald," Burrow said. "He just creates so many problems and mismatches for you. You always gotta be alert of where he’s at, because he can wreck the game."

Jones has recorded at least one sack in five of his last six games. He had two in each game against the 49ers and Chargers.

The revamped interior offensive line will face an elite defensive tackle for a third-consecutive week. They played Cameron Heyward in Week 11, Jeffery Simmons last week and now Jones.

Since the Bengals' 0-2 start, the offensive line is allowing the sixth lowest pressure rate according to PFF.

Jones is likely to draw double teams from Volson, Karras, and Cappa throughout the game. A key factor will be how often the Chiefs blitz, which could put Jones in one-on-one situations.

Kansas City blitzes on 28.5% of their defensive snaps (9th-most), which has been a big help in their defense ranking fifth in the NFL in sacks (35) this season.

However, the Chiefs may rely more heavily on their line in Jones, Frank Clark, and others including former Bengal Carlos Dunlap to create pressure to drop more defenders in coverage against the Bengals passing attack.

Sam Hubbard vs. Andrew Wylie

The Chiefs' offensive line play has been the foundation to Mahomes' and Kansas City's high-powered offense's success.

They have consistently ranked in the top-ten all season long among offensive lines around the league and are currently PFF's second-ranked line heading into Week 13 posting the top-rated pass block win rate and third-rated run block win rate.

Joe Thuney returns after missing his first game in 107 consecutive starts last week. Thuney, Creed Humphrey, and Trey Smith have been dominant on the interior of the line this season.

The outside is where Cincinnati could possibly take advantage. Orlando Brown Jr. has had an up-and-down season, but has hit his stride in recent games. Wylie on the right edge against Hubbard will be the matchup to watch.

Wylie has surrendered the most sacks (six), pressures (35) and penalties (seven) of the Chiefs linemen per PFF.

The Bengals pass rush may not be producing like they were last year, but Hubbard is having the best season of his career.

He is known as a consistent run-stopper (currently has 16 run stops), he is also applying pressure in the passing game. His 4.5 sacks don't stand out, but PFF has his true pass-set win rate is 25% and fifth in the league in quarterback hits (12).

Like the Chiefs, the Bengals defense could drop more defenders in coverage to guard the Chiefs skill players on passing downs. Hubbard, along with Trey Hendrickson, would have more one-on-one matchups.

Hubbard and Hendrickson not only need to win their matchups, but contain Mahomes from extending the play either with his arm or legs.

Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase, Hayden Hurst vs. Justin Reid

Reid starting the week off with the comment "I'm gonna lock him down", in regards to Higgins, added fuel to the fire of the animosity between these two teams.

As members of the Bengals such as Chase and DJ Reader started to chime in on Twitter, the Chiefs' safety clarified his statement.

Higgins (165) and Chase (320) totaled 485 of Burrow's 696 passing yards against the Chiefs last season. Chase had four touchdowns in those games.

The Chiefs revamped their secondary in hopes of slowing the Bengals down, which included adding Reid in free agency.

The safety has allowed over a 70% completion rate, 11.7 yards per completion, and three touchdowns this season.

Higgins has 16 receptions for 262 yards and one score over the past two games.

With Chase returning from injury, the Bengals' offense could be in a big day from the receiving duo plus Hurst as Cincinnati wants the last laugh in this matchup.

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