Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is right when he said being 4-1 in the division isn’t going to cut it this year. The Bengals need to win at least one more game to win the AFC North and clinch a playoff berth.
“We're 4-1 in the division right now, and we need to be better than that this year, quite frankly,” Taylor said. “We know how big of a test this Kansas City game is coming up for us this weekend. It's far and away the biggest game of the year for us."
Week 17 brings an interesting scenario for Taylor and his team. If the Bengals win their next game and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football, the Bengals will win the division before entering Week 18. This would mean quarterback Joe Burrow and the rest of the starters could potentially not play and be given an extra week of rest.
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But it won’t be easy for Cincinnati as their next opponent is arguably the best team in the NFL right now. The Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) are coming to town as the No. 1 seed in the AFC and have already clinched the AFC West. The Chiefs will be playing for something against the Bengals as they try and hold onto the No. 1 seed which would give them a bye during the first round of the playoffs.
The Chiefs are the measuring stick for every team in the AFC in many ways as they have won two straight AFC championships, six consecutive AFC West titles and Super Bowl LIV under head coach Andy Reid. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a former NFL MVP, is getting hot at the right time.
After an underwhelming 3-4 start to the season, the Chiefs have rattled off eight wins. Mahomes’ All-Pro weapons Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill are back and continue to play at a high level. The Chiefs rank No. 4 in the NFL in points per game (28.1 ppg).
Many of Kansas City’s struggles in the earlier part of the season came on defense. That is no longer the case as the Chiefs are now playing as good as any defense in the NFL. Kansas City ranks No. 4 in scoring defense and are among the league’s best at taking the ball away. The Chiefs rank No. 4 in takeaways with 28 so far.
In order for the Bengals to beat the Chiefs, it's likely to come down to three things: Score at least 30 points, don’t turn the ball over and eliminate explosive plays on defense.
Easier said than done.
“Our guys are going to be ready, and we're going to do a great job of getting rested, and getting our best focus,” Taylor said. “We've got a huge challenge coming to town, and our guys are going to be ready for it."
Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd didn’t deny this is the biggest game of Cincinnati’s season. Boyd has seen from afar how good the Chiefs have been over the last few years and believes if the Bengals want to contend in late January and into February, they’ll need to play their best on Sunday.
“I think they're the best,” Boyd said of the Chiefs. “They're the hot team right now in the AFC. They are the top team. You know, like I said, if we can beat them guys, then that will let us know how talented and how far we can take this because they're a great team and they won the AFC championship two years in a row now, so this is definitely going to be a huge statement game for us to go out there and play our best football.”
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