Henry Roldán
For the second consecutive season, two of the NFL’s most explosive teams will face off in the AFC Conference Finals when the Bengals vs. Chiefs face each other on the gridiron this coming Sunday.
Cincinnati finished the regular round as champions of the AFC North and has already defeated the Ravens and Bills, the latter by a score of 27-10. Meanwhile, Kansas City took first place in the AFC West and were the best team in the American Conference before beating the Jaguars 20-27 in the Divisional Round.
It is worth remembering that last year the Bengals beat the Chiefs in this stage after defeating them 27-24 in overtime. Without further ado, JefeBet brings you the best preview of the stellar match between the Cincinnati Bengals vs Kansas City Chiefs.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Cincinnati Bengals vs Kansas City Chiefs NFL AFC Conference Final on January 29, 2023
- Where: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, Missouri.
- When: Sunday, January 29, 2023 – 6:30 PM E.T.
Odds provided by BetMGM.
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Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals
- Season record: 14-4 (AFC North Champion – 2nd seed AFC).
- BetMGM Spread: +1.0.
- BetMGM Moneyline: (+165)
- BetMGM Over/Under: 47.
The Bengals are just one step away from repeating as American Conference champions, and their recent results bode very well for one of the best teams in the NFL.
Cincinnati comfortably eliminated the Bills in the divisional round and has won the last three meetings against the Chiefs, including last season’s Conference Final and the Week 13 regular round game of the current season.
Of course, the decisive player of this team is quarterback Joe Burrow, who wasn’t slowed down by the massive avalanche of snow that fell on Sunday in Buffalo. He beat one of the best defenses in the league and throw for 242 yards with two touchdown passes.
To that we must add that thanks to the 27 points scored, the Bengals reached 10 consecutive games scoring at least 20 points.This speaks to the offensive power of this team that not only depends on Burrow’s aerial game, but also on the ground with Joe Mixon, who recorded 105 yards and a touchdown.
On the defensive side, Cincinnati is also a hard rock to crack. They haven’t allowed more than 18 points to their opponents in four games, and on Sunday they gave a master class in defense by holding Josh Allen and company to just 10 points. A clear example of why they were the fourth-lowest TD defense through the air this campaign, and why Patrick Mahomes must be quite concerned.
Betting on the Kansas City Chiefs
- Season record: 15-3 (AFC West Champion – AFC 1st seed).
- BetMGM Spread: -1.0.
- BetMGM Moneyline: (+165)
- BetMGM Over/Under: 47.
The Chiefs come into the game coming off a big win against a tough Jaguars team and after a huge scare with an ankle injury to Patrick Mahomes.
The quarterback had to come out of the game for a few minutes, but despite his injury, he did not stop spreading his magic on the gridiron, throwing for 195 yards and two touchdown passes.
While the QB was diagnosed with a sprained ankle, he is expected to be in uniform next Sunday against a Cincinnati team that has slowed him down at opportune times the past two times.
Kansas City finished as the best offense in the NFL, but it’s no secret that this is due to the presence of Mahomes. The Chiefs were first in points scored (496), were the only team to surpass 7,000 total yards (7,032) and were also number one in average yards per play (6.4), air yards (5,062) and air TDs (41).
For the Chiefs, it’s vital that their offense is fueled. Defensively they are not among the worst in the league, but their performance is pretty average, so expect the Bengals’ offense to score a few points like Jacksonville did in the Divisional Round.
One statistic that worries Andy Reid’s team is that they were the team that conceded the most TDs through the air in the league with 33, a not very encouraging figure before facing one of the best aerial attacks in the league, the one deployed by Joe Burrow.
JefeBet Prediction
The Bengals’ strong performance at home against the Bills and Patrick Mahomes’ physical discomfort have Cincinnati as a slight betting favorite for this game.
However, the Chiefs are 8-1 at home this year and against this team nothing can be taken for granted, especially since it seems difficult for Cincinnati to beat them four games in a row. That said, we should not expect a low-scoring result. It will be a hard fought match, but not with few points.
In this game we will have the two best quarterbacks in the NFL today and the results that led to the loss in nine of the last 12 meetings between the two will be left behind.
Prediction: Over (CIN 27 – KC 26).
