Chiefs Offense Vs Bengals Defense: AFC Title Preview

For the fourth straight season, the Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the AFC Championship Game. This will be the first time in 33 years where the Cincinnati Bengals are appearing in the AFC Championship Game, however. Kansas City is looking to make a third straight Super Bowl appearance. Meanwhile, the Bengals last made the Super Bowl in that same 1988 season 33 years ago, losing to the San Francisco 49ers.

Offensively, the Chiefs have scored 42 points in both playoff games so far this postseason. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is coming off one of the best performances of his career. On top of that, tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill continue to grow their respective Kansas City playoff legends at a rapid pace. Their situational awareness and knowledge of the game has grown exponentially over the last few postseasons. We saw a great example of that against the Buffalo Bills last week.

On the other hand, the Bengals defense has allowed only 35 points combined in their first two playoff games. Cincinnati has also forced five turnovers over the course of those games, including getting three interceptions last week against Ryan Tannehill. During this postseason, the Bengals have proven that they are not just flashy offensively. They can play a physical game at all three levels of the defense, while also confusing opposing quarterbacks by disguising tendencies very subtly.

What are the top position battles that could determine Sunday’s outcome when the Chiefs offense meets the Bengals defense? Let’s kick it off.

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Chiefs Interior Offensive Line Vs Bengals Defensive Tackles

Much of the more savvy play in the trenches could draw attention to the Kansas City offensive tackles and Cincinnati defensive ends. But, the matchup between the Chiefs interior offensive linemen and the Bengals defensive tackles is sure to be a heavyweight bout all game long. There will likely be many stalemates. As a result, the group that is able to impose their power earlier could get some major momentum rolling for their respective position group.

For Kansas City, the Chiefs have built a rare combination of strength and smarts with their interior offensive line group. Center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith are wise beyond their years as rookies. And that is no surprise if you go back to how each of them played as leaders for their college teams. Yet, that strength and power at the point of attack can often be relentless. Both Humphrey and Smith are able to routinely carry their opponent up the field and bury them in the dirt. Yet at left guard, Joe Thuney is a blocker who can wear multiple hats. His versatility shows up against many different play styles of opposing defensive linemen. Thuney seemingly makes every rep look the same and technically refined, no matter what kind of counter moves opponents are trying to use against him.

The Bengals have been rewarded by monster performances from DJ Reader during these playoffs. That has been extremely necessary following the injury to stud Larry Ogunjobi. Reader works through contact quicker than some may realize. At the same time, he can play gap control upfront and remain patient against some of the better opposing offensive linemen. The defensive tackle depth of BJ Hill, Josh Tupou and Tyler Shelvin are just as stout. Overall, Cincinnati possesses a nice mix of short area burst and dominance at the point of attack at defensive tackle.

Chiefs Wide Receivers Vs Bengals Cornerbacks

Once again, Hill was on another level last week against Buffalo. The man known as the Cheetah used that elite speed to decompress the Bills on more than one occasion. Not only did he make tough catches in traffic often in that game, but Hill also delivered one gut punch after another to the league’s top rated defense. Elsewhere, it felt like Andy Reid was more willing to use Hill in tighter alignments than he had in a good while. This forced Buffalo to cover even more ground against him than they had in the previous meeting.

Kansas City has seen Mahomes gain more trust in the other receivers on the depth chart as the year has worn on. Byron Pringle has arguably been more productive in this postseason than any other wideout not named Hill during the Mahomes era. He continues to improve in working all areas of the field. Pringle’s ability to remain patient during his route and then stack cornerbacks deliberately gives the Chiefs a fine change of pace at the position.

Mecole Hardman is enjoying his greatest stretch as a Chief right now. He is more confident, calm in space and aware of where his blocks or openings are. More importantly, Hardman has begun to have a greater attention to detail when running his routes. You are seeing him finish off the stem with more urgency and rounding them off less often.

At cornerback, the Bengals have built a rather deep, veteran group. Many of these guys are players who have come from elsewhere via free agency. To boot, a lot of these players are redeeming themselves after flaming out on other squads.

This includes names like Eli Apple, Chidobe Awuzie and Tre Flowers. Apple struggled with penalties and inconsistency at the catch point on other teams. Flowers was consistently getting thrown at and beat while with the Seattle Seahawks. It felt like every deep completion against that Seattle defense was by virtue of throwing in the direction of Flowers. Finally, Awuzie needed a change of scenery after experiencing high variance play with the Dallas Cowboys.

Nickel cornerback Mike Hilton was an absolute steal in free agency last offseason. The Bengals were able to sign him away from the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. At an increasingly more important position in today’s NFL, Hilton is tenacious at nickel cornerback. This shows up against both the quick passing game and the deep passing game. This well-seasoned group is good at keeping the plays in front of them. With this, Cincinnati displays tremendous discipline, cohesion and physicality in their secondary. The Bengals cornerbacks have only grown stronger as the season has become deeper. Overall, this unit has never been as confident as they are right now.

Chiefs Running Backs Vs Bengals Linebackers

Last week, Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned to the lineup with force. He was sprung into the open field on more than one occasion. During these plays, CEH made Buffalo defenders miss in space with such ease. That is so crucial for a running back like him, who is not the fastest.

Jerick McKinnon was not as dangerous on the ground as he was in the previous playoff game. However, the shifty running back made his presence felt as a pass catcher. McKinnon lowered his shoulder into the opposing defender multiple teams. That is almost a secret weapon for the Chiefs in third down situations. Beyond that, he has become an excellent runner to use when Kansas City wants to heighten the pace. McKinnon is easily the quickest and most explosive running back that Coach Reid has had at his disposal in a good while.

It remains to be seen if Darrel Williams (toe injury) will return to the lineup this Sunday. The Bengals should remember how dangerous he can be, though. Just look at his results against Cincinnati from a few weeks ago, where he had arguably one of his best career outings.

Very quickly, the Bengals have built a rather instinctive and poised linebacker room. The duo of Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt have proven that they can handle multiple roles during this playoff run. Cincinnati needs them to cover passes on the outer edges of the field? They can do it. The Bengals need them to work sideline to sideline against the opposing rushing attack? They can do it. Finally, Wilson and Pratt are both good at reading and reacting to play flow instantly.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs playoff articles throughout the rest of this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.