NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Kansas City Chiefs at home in week 13 of the 2022 NFL Season
When: Sunday, December 4
Time: 4:25 pm
Network: CBS
Offense
Last week, the Bengals played a very tough game. While not having running back Joe Mixon, Cincinnati was still able to run the ball effectively. What stood out to me the most was how the offensive line pretty much shut down the Titans pass rush by giving up only one sack. The offensive line will need to play a great game once again. Chris Jones has caused problems up front coming into the game already having 10 sacks. The Chiefs as a team have 35 which is already past their 2021 total of just 31. Kansas City can cause pressure from all around. No one outside of Jones has more than four sacks, however.
Cincinnati should also look out for the former Bengal Carlos Dunlap. Playing against his former team could cause him to go even harder. The offense will be getting back Ja’Marr Chase after a month-long absence. Mixon is still in concussion protocol so even if he does suit up, I doubt he plays a ton.
Overall, the Bengals are going to have to score a lot of points to keep up. In the last three games, Kansas City has given up 215 passing yards, 102 rushing yards along with getting 13 sacks. Don’t be surprised if Kansas City plays a lot of nickel to start off. The past month has shown that Cincinnati can air it out and also have a solid running game. It’s great that Chase is now back, but Burrow should not force him the ball. The Chiefs took note of what Chase did to them last season and have become more younger and athletic to try and stop that. Spread the ball around to whoever is open. Utilize the various running backs of Same Perine, Trayveon Williams, and Chris Evans if Mixon can’t go.
Defense
The Bengals shut up and shut down Derrick Henry in the running game last week. He was held to just 38 yards on the ground. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are a different beast, however. It’s no secret. Even without receiver Tyreek Hill, Mahomes is still on pace to be the league MVP.
Cincinnati has to slow him down as much as possible. This would be a big game for Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard to cause pressure and get to the quarterback but I’m not counting on it. The Bengals pass rush simply hasn’t been there and I don’t expect it to be there on Sunday either. They need to be dropping back at least six or seven guys in coverage on passing downs. The Bengals are most likely going to bring in 6’3 cornerback Tre Flowers to guard Kelce. They’re going to be running man a lot more when Flowers is on the field. He hasn’t really played that well against tight ends this year but hopefully, it gets better. Taking away tight end Travis Kielce could help a lot but that is not the end all be all.
Cincinnati has shown in the past that they can cause turnovers against this Chiefs offense so an interception would do wonders for them. I’d actually prefer the Chiefs to run the ball if that means not letting Mahomes play madden in real life. The Chiefs running game isn’t bad by any means either. Running back Isiah Pacheo has been finding his stride recently. Usually, I trust the scheming and adjustments that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has put in place throughout the year but at the end of the day, this is Patrick Mahomes we’re talking about. It’s going to take a little bit more to beat him.
Prediction
Chiefs win 33-30
