Bengals vs Chiefs: Writers' Week 2 predictions ahead of Joe Burrow legacy game

Are the Week 1 jitters out of your system yet? The 2024 NFL season kicked off with a thrilling Thursday night game, and the rest of the week's matchups didn't disappoint either. Arguably the biggest upset of Week 1 came when the struggling New England Patriots traveled to Cincinnati and shocked the Bengals with a 16-10 victory.

Bengals fans keep trying to convince themselves that this roster is Super Bowl-ready, but that opening game couldn't have gone much worse. Will they carry that hangover into Kansas City for Week 2? Our writers certainly think so.

Congratulations to writer Tyler Brown for predicting the final score from Week 1, a Chiefs 27-20 win.

Christian Ainsworth (0-0)
Predicting an early-season Bengals team to upset the back-to-back Super Bowl champs... couldn't be me. Trent McDuffie gets his first interception, the offense looks as dominant as ever, and the Bengals fall flat on their face in spectacular fashion. Mahomes and company only have one thing to prove during the regular season: can they outclass Joe Burrow and the Bengals? That's an easy answer for me. Absolutely.
Chiefs 38, Bengals 17

Patrick Allen (1-0)
The Bengals often start the season slowly, but not even I thought they would lose to the Jacoby Brissett-led Patriots. I expect Burrow to try to force-feed Ja'Marr Chase early to challenge the KC secondary and spark the Cincy offense. The Bengals will probably figure it out (they always do) but not this week.
Chiefs 33, Bengals 17

Tyler Brown (1-0)
I don’t love the Chiefs being a six-point favorite against a team that has consistently played the Chiefs tough, even with a backup quarterback in 2023. Burrow has bested Mahomes in three out of four games and it is only a matter of time until Mahomes evens that backup, but I do not see a blowout here. The Bengals are surely motivated for more than one reason.
Chiefs 24, Bengals 20

Price Carter (1-0)
This week feels like a golden opportunity for the Chiefs to take a big step forward in the early playoff seeding. The Bengals are reeling, Higgins is likely out, Chase has seemed limited and Burrow looks rusty and/or not healthy. If the Chiefs offense can replicate the level of explosiveness they had last week this seems like a much easier game than it did in May. The Chiefs defense should have a much easier task ahead keeping Joe Burrow in the pocket and limiting Chase.
Chiefs 27, Bengals 14

Matt Conner (1-0)
Tee Higgins is likely out. The roster looks thin. The trenches are weak. The Chiefs know they have a chance to put two contenders in the rearview mirror early in the season and they’re going to take every opportunity to do so—maybe with Hollywood Brown joining the excitement. Hard to picture K.C. losing this one.
Chiefs 32, Bengals 20

Braden Holecek (1-0)
The Bengals have once again started slow and sputtered out of the gate. Not only do the Chiefs have a chance to send Cincinnati to 0-2, but KC has another shot at getting a key head-to-head tiebreaker within the AFC. The Chiefs had a pretty solid start offensively last week, despite a few drops. I expect Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes to push the ball down the field and force Joe Burrow and Cincinnati to answer while the Bengals work through more early-season woes. Seeing how efficient the Bengals offense can be is the top item I am watching for.
Chiefs 27, Bengals 20

Scott Loring (1-0)
The Bengals will miss DJ Reader this season, as evidenced by Rhamondre Stevenson’s 120-yard outburst in the opener. KC will want to protect rookie LT Kingsley Suamataia against Trey Hendrickson, so I expect to see Isiah Pacheco have a big game and the Chiefs maintain their early lead in the conference race.
Chiefs 23, Bengals 19

Jacob Milham (1-0)
Joe Burrow and coach Zac Taylor have a track record early in the season, and it isn't good. Their embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots last week further cements that. No fan, analyst, or pundit can look at the Bengals' health, Kansas City's home-field advantage, and the Week 1 games and say Cincinnati wins this game. It should be close, but I am not confident it will be a shootout.
Chiefs 30, Bengals 17

Greg Morse
Earlier this week I had a small debate with the other writers on whether or not Zac Taylor is a good coach. I don’t think he is, but he does have Joe Burrow which covers a multitude of coaching sins. Even with that the Bengals didn’t look great last week. Sure, these Bengals have been a historical Chiefsbane, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem this week. Reid and Mahomes eliminate another threat to the #1 seed before the season is even out of the first quarter.
Chiefs 27, Bengals 10

Shawn O'Brate (1-0)
The Chiefs are riding a pretty decent high heading into week two while the Bengals have not looked good during their first outing (again). But both teams’ performances could easily be a flash in the pan. With that said I think Cincy puts some air under the ball and scores over the top a few times while KC does what they always do and keeps it interesting till the end. A last-minute/second field goal by Butker will keep the Chiefs without a loss but it will also help give Andy Reid and the coaching staff a blueprint of what needs to happen for KC to be perfect heading into their first away game.
Chiefs 27, Bengals 24

Charles Robinson (1-0)
Ja'Marr Chase can scoff at the notion that Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the game all he wants, but he cannot alter facts. Mahomes and the Chiefs, based on one week's sample set, look to be head and shoulders above where the Bengals are at right now. That doesn't mean Cincinnati won't put things together, and they could as early as this week, but my eyes tell me that Kansas City is prepared to come in and dominate this game.
Chiefs 31, Bengals 20

Stacy D. Smith (1-0)
The 0-1 Cincinnati Bengals visit Arrowhead Stadium for a late-window game on Sunday in hopes of righting the ship after a tough Week 1 loss. Unfortunately, they'll have to try and overcome their nemesis with some injury concerns. Kansas City will have a few struggles again offensively this week, but have success rushing the football. Isiah Pacheco has a 100-yard day and Travis Kelce has a get-right game to prove he's still as good as advertised. The good guys stay undefeated.
Chiefs 24, Bengals 20

Lucas Strozinsky (1-0)
The Bengals were a mess in Week 1, which means they'll come out firing on all cylinders against the Chiefs. Even then, unless Patrick Mahomes melts down (which he has done against Cincy before), KC shouldn't lose this game. As long as Mahomes is kept clean, the Chiefs shouldn't be stopped, but the Bengals do have a solid pass rush. Still, the Chiefs should climb to 2-0.
Chiefs 26, Bengals 18