Why the Bengals are a bad matchup for KC Chiefs

The Cincinnati Bengals have been a thorn in the side of the Kansas City Chiefs. The reason why might not occur to you.

The Cincinnati Bengals are a bad matchup for the Kansas City Chiefs and it’s for a reason you probably haven’t considered. The simplest explanation is that the Bengals have a personnel advantage, right? I believe that may have been true in the prior two matchups. At this stage, I’m not convinced that’s the core issue. Don’t take my word for it though—more on that in a moment.

Ask yourself if you would’ve signed up for a young secondary to hold the league’s best wideout trio of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd to 192 receiving yards and just one touchdown before Sunday’s game. I certainly would have. In the Week 17 game last season, that group posted 364 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. In the AFC Championship Game, the three-headed monster amassed 200 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Yesterday, was by far the best performance the Chiefs have had against Cincy’s top weapons in the trilogy.

Steve Spagnuolo certainly isn’t without fault. The Chiefs had been surging as one of the best defenses in terms of rushing the passer. In the four weeks prior to Sunday, they had posted 16 sacks. Last night, they got to Burrow just once (rookie George Karlaftis). You might argue that’s less an indictment of the effort and more a by-product of how slippery Joe Burrow can be. Overall, they simply could not generate consistent pressure with four. They’ll need to be able to do that in January. It’s also true that the Chiefs’ run defense was less than stellar. Backup running back Samaje Perine averaged more than five yards per carry on the ground.

One might argue that the Bengals’ defense is the fly in Andy Reid’s offensive ointment, but Kansas City left points on the field. On the Chiefs’ first offensive drive, they had averaged 6.75 yards per carry on four runs. Once they got down to the Bengals’ 8-yard line, they threw twice unsuccessfully on 2nd-&-3 and 3rd-&-3 and had to settle for a field goal. Early in the fourth quarter, with a chance to extend their lead, tight end Travis Kelce put the ball on the ground.

On their final offensive possession, the Chiefs again had four runs between Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon. On those runs, they averaged four yards per carry. When they got down into Bengals territory, facing a 3rd & 3, the Chiefs opted to throw and Mahomes refused to take a check down to a wide-open Jerick McKinnon. With the drive stalled, the Chiefs had to settle for a long field goal attempt that Harrison Butker ultimately missed (from 55 yards out).

As much as we’d like to believe there are clear personnel advantages that favor the Bengals, the answer is much simpler than that. Cincinnati’s a bad matchup because they commit to a style of play that makes the Kansas City Chiefs uncomfortable. Of all of the virtues of KC’s offense, patience is not one of them. The Bengals are confident that the Chiefs simply will not take what’s given to them in key situations. They made this clear in the AFC Championship game. They proved it again on Sunday.

When the chips are down, the Chiefs will force the issue. The Bengals simply create the conditions to allow that to happen. Kansas City’s offense has evolved, but in pressurized situations, both Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have revisited the bad habits that cost them a third trip to the Super Bowl in January. There’s a good chance these two teams see each other again in the postseason. If the Chiefs want a different result, they’ll have to be willing to adapt.

Winning football isn’t always a matter of superior schemes. Sometimes, it’s being willing to make the right play at the right time. The Bengals are a bad matchup for one reason: defensively, they are committed to dropping 7 or 8 into coverage. They know the Chiefs aren’t patient or disciplined enough to take what’s there.

Last night, the run game and checkdowns were there. Kansas City was unwilling to leverage either in key situations. Put simply, the Kansas City Chiefs loathe having their opponent dictate their offensive strategy. When push comes to shove, Reid and company will make the play they want to make rather than the play they need to make. If the Chiefs are ever to get this monkey off their backs, they either need to play a perfect brand of football or be willing to overcome that problematic and stubborn offensive tendency.