The AFC Conference Championship will be decided between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium for a second consecutive season.
12 months ago the Bengals came from 10-21 at half-time to reach their third Super Bowl with a 27-24 victory.
Since then they have arguably got better, as per their performance in the Divisional Round with a 27-10 upset on the road at the Buffalo Bills.
Joe Burrow went 23/36 for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was to JaMarr Chase, who was otherwise kept in check with 5 catches for 61 yards. You can expect these two to hook up again this Sunday as the Chiefs’ secondary isn’t as good as the Bills’.
Joe Mixon produced a solid performance on the ground with 105 yards and 1 touchdown on 20 carries.
Kansas City were 27-20 winners over the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend, but quarterback Patrick Mahomes picked up a high ankle sprain that will likely see him play this game much short of 100%.
The Bengals are good at getting pressure on the opposition quarterback, whether it’s with their D-linemen or blitzing defensive backs. It will be interesting to see how agile Mahomes is in the pocket as he rarely scrambled versus the Jaguars.
What is the Bengals @ Chiefs money line?
Questionmarks over Patrick Mahomes’ ankle have punters nervous to back the Kansas City Chiefs, but they are currently -1 point favourites to win the AFC Championship and 5/6 on the money line.
Cincinnati @ Kansas City pick
We tipped the Cincinnati Bengals to upset the Buffalo Bills last weekend and we’re backing them to reach a second successive Super Bowl. They have some top receivers in Chase, Tee Higgins and Hayden Hurst, and I prefer their defence out of these two, even if they aren’t always turning the ball over. Kansas City haven’t been overwhelming in too many games this season and this is a tough matchup for them.
Pick: Cincinnati Bengals to win at 1/1
