The Cincinnati Bengals (9-6) host the Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) on Sunday for the top AFC matchup of the Week 17 NFL slate. If the Bengals beat the Chiefs, Cincinnati will clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2015.
The Chiefs won't make it easy, though. Kansas City wants to win as the Chiefs continue to try and secure home-field advantage through the playoffs.
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The two-time AFC Champion Chiefs possess problems all over the field for the Bengals' defense with their quarterback and skill weapons. Cincinnati's offense is playing at a high level led by quarterback Joe Burrow who is "excited" to go toe-to-toe with former NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Sunday's game has all of the makings to be a high-scoring affair between these two potent offenses.
Here's how the Bengals can knock off the Chiefs and improve to 10-6 on the year:
Eliminate turnovers
The Chiefs started the season 3-4 and were struggling to find their identity on defense. Kansas City has rattled off eight wins a row and a big reason for the recent success is the improved play on defense.
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The Chiefs rank No. 4 in the league in takeaways and have forced 28 turnovers on the year. Defensive tackle Chris Jones continue to be one of the league's premier interior defenders and already has seven sacks on the year.
Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu has recorded three interceptions and rookie linebacker Nick Bolton leads the Chiefs in tackles. If the Bengals give the ball away, Mahomes and Co. will likely make them pay.
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Score every possession on offense
The Bengals are going to have to keep pace with the Chiefs ... simply put. Kansas City is an explosive offense and all of Mahomes' receiving weapons are healthy.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill leads the team in receiving yards with 1,197 on 104 catches. He averages 11.5 catches per game. Cincinnati's top cornerback Chidobe Awuzie will have his work cut out trying to stop Hill from getting behind the Bengals' defense. Bengals' defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said if Hill gets behind Cincinnati's defense, there's no catching him because of how fast he is.
"He is fast as fast can be but he's so low to the ground that he can stop and start and has such great quickness," Anarumo said of Hill. "He is truly one of the blessed athletes in our league. It's unbelievable."
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Hill isn't the only player the Bengals will need to account for on defense as Travis Kelce also remains one of Mahomes' favorite targets. Kelce missed Kansas City's last game against the Steelers but will be back this week.
Kelce has 83 catches for 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns. All of this to say, Cincinnati is going to need to score every time they touch the ball in order to keep the game close with Kansas City.
Pressure Mahomes all game
As Anarumo said Thursday, pressure is the "ultimate equalizer" against quarterbacks like Mahomes. The Bengals will likely mix up their pressure packages against Mahomes to try and catch him off guard.
Cincinnati's best chance of limiting the production of Mahomes is keeping him in the pocket and not allowing him to scramble. Mahomes has thrown 13 interceptions this year and if the Bengals can capitalize on a mistake from the Chiefs' star quarterback, it could end up being a game-changer.
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Pressuring Mahomes often isn't as easy as it may seem. He's shifty in the pocket and his offensive line has allowed only 27 sacks on him this season. Anarumo and the Bengals' defense will need to get creative and make sure they get home on Mahomes if they do come with the heat.
"Any time you play a great quarterback, if you give him just a steady diet of one thing, it’s going to be a long day," Anarumo said. "So you do have to mix it up. It’s just when you decide to do it, when we decided to do it in terms of maybe calling a pressure or changing up the coverage looks or whatever it may be. You have to hit them. And pressure is the ultimate equalizer. And that’s what we have to do. We have to harass the quarterback on Sunday."
