Former National Football League running back Maurice Jones-Drew joined NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" hosts on Tuesday and revealed that the Cincinnati Bengals are his pick to represent the AFC in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Feb. 13.
"I think Cincinnati's ready," Jones-Drew said. "One, the biggest thing we never talk about ... when dome teams have to go outside and play in the cold. It is not gonna be nice in Cincinnati, right? And again, I know the Raiders like to run the ball and you're competitors. But just remember, Derek Carr is a Texas guy, Fresno State guy. Lives in Bakersfield, lives in Vegas. It's a little bit different. ... It's cold (in Cincinnati). It's cold out there. ... Another thing is this: I just see too much firepower on the Bengals. It's too much. I mean, you've already played each other - so you know how that's gonna be. And the Bengals went into Vegas and won. ... Cincinnati seems like they're the team to me. To be honest, I'm gonna say this: I have Cincinnati going to the Super Bowl. I have them winning the AFC. That's how excited I am about this team. They remind me of the Chiefs. Think about it: When the Chiefs came out of nowhere? A young quarterback - second year. Hot receivers. They could do whatever they wanted. It seems a lot like Cincinnati to me."
"I think it's Cincinnati (over the Raiders). I actually don't think it's close," co-host Kyle Brandt added.
The Bengals, AFC North champions for the first time since 2015, are scheduled to face the Raiders at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC in a rematch of the Week 11 game won 32-13 by Cincinnati.
It's Cincinnati's first NFL playoff game since the 2015 postseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals will be looking to end the longest playoff-win drought of any NFL team. They have lost eight consecutive playoff games - including a 1991 loss to the Raiders in Los Angeles to start that streak - and last won a postseason game against the Houston Oilers on Jan. 6, 1991.
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