Cincinnati Bengals
This is the matchup that has most recently left a bad taste in the mouth of Chiefs Kingdom. The Bengals, led by Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, stole the one seed from the Chiefs and handed it to the Tennessee Titans on a silver platter. In that matchup, Chase single-handedly destroyed the Kansas City defense. Whether it was first and ten or third and long, the Chiefs were burned by passes to Chase all game long.
Although Charvarius Ward was in good position on many of the passes, he seemed to be the victim of big plays to Chase the majority of the time. It did not help that Steve Spagnuolo refused to change the game plan after being burned more than once. In turn, the Chiefs were beaten in a close one on some heart-breaking penalties at the goal line.
There is now a chance that the Chiefs get revenge on the Bengals who ruined their chances. If the Bengals win against the Raiders on Saturday afternoon, the Bills lose to the Patriots on Saturday night, and the Chiefs defeat Pittsburgh on Sunday night, the Chiefs will have a second shot at the Bengals.
Hopefully, this time around, Kansas City can hold Chase to under 200 yards receiving and get a group of referees that don’t call wild and unnecessary penalties. If this matchup happens, I would expect the Chiefs to come out swinging in a way that we haven’t since this team has had a regular season game against Tom Brady.