Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Preview
The Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals renew their rivalry on September 15 at 4:25 pm for week two of the regular season. Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes have shared a competitive rivalry since Burrow’s ascension to QB1 in Cincinnati.
The Bengals were left red-faced after a disappointing performance and shock defeat in their season opener. Kansas City impressed with a victory over strong competition in theirs. Can Cincinnati get their first win of the season against the reigning Super Bowl champions or will the Chiefs make it 2-0 at Arrowhead Stadium?
Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Head-To-Head and Key Stats
The Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals have played on 34 occasions. Their rivalry has become one of the most exciting to watch in recent years with Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow battling it out as two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Cincinnati leads their rivalry with 18 victories to 16. However, the Chiefs have won their last two contests. They last met on New Year’s Eve 2023.
We rallied back to beat the Bengals and win our eighth-straight AFC West title!
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 1, 2024
An injured Joe Burrow had to watch from the sidelines as Kansas City defeated the Bengals 25-17. Mahomes passed for 245 yards and a touchdown through 21 completions from 21 attempts. Isiah Pacheco had a mammoth game with 130 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards for a touchdown. Rashee Rice finished with 127 receiving yards as the Chiefs kept Cincinnati scoreless for the entirety of the second half.
The Kansas City Chiefs played their season opener last Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium. The reigning Super Bowl champs overcame Lamar Jackson’s Ravens after an outstanding Mahomes performance. He finished with 291 passing yards and a touchdown for a 27-20 victory in the first game of the season.
Baltimore took the lead after a 75-yard drive on the first possession of the game. The Ravens fought through three third downs in 15 plays as Derrick Henry scored a touchdown on his debut to open the scoring. Kansas City didn’t take long to reply, replying with a touchdown of their own on the following possession. Another debutant put points on the board as rookie Xavier Worthy scored a 21-yard rushing touchdown after a drive that lasted just 139 seconds. Two field goals for the Chiefs and one for Baltimore in the second quarter ended the half 13-10 to Kansas City.
Week 1 in one minute ⏰ pic.twitter.com/IXXVs9qEqs
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 12, 2024
Mahomes passed for 71 yards in his first possession of the second half before Isiah Pacheco ran 1-yard into the endzone to extend the Chiefs’ lead. The Ravens tried to mount a comeback after an impressive 90-yard scoring drive in the last quarter. However, Mahomes found Worthy with a deep pass for his first passing touchdown of the day to make it a two-score game at 27-17. The Chiefs kept Baltimore to a touchdown for the rest of the quarter to see out an impressive victory.
The Cincinnati Bengals welcomed the New England Patriots to Paul Brown Stadium for their season opener with fans expecting a win. A torrid performance on both sides of the ball saw them fall victim to the biggest upset of the weekend as the Patriots won 16-10. Joe Burrow finished with just 164 passing yards from 29 attempts as Tee Higgins sat out through injury.
Both teams went scoreless in the first quarter with just 42 total offensive yards between the sides. The Patriots opened the second quarter with a Rhamondre Stevenson touchdown after Cincinnati allowed them to gain 85 yards from a 14-play drive. Cincinnati went three-and-out with a punt on their next possession before Kyle Dugger forced a fumble on the 1-yard line. Marcus Jones recovered for 17 yards. New England scored a field goal after a 65-yard drive and the Bengals entered the break down 10-0.
Final. pic.twitter.com/J0dYfbpuZS
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 8, 2024
Charlie Jones fumbled a punt return in the third quarter to put the Patriots on Cinci’s 24-yard line. New England scored a field goal, and the Bengals showed little fight to mount a comeback. Zack Moss scored a late rushing touchdown in the third quarter to finally put the Bengals on the board, but it was too little too late. New England ended the game 16-10 with a field goal in the last quarter, leaving Cincinnati embarrassed.
Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Predictions
The Cincinnati Bengals have infamously been ‘slow starters’ in the NFL, but their performance in their season opener was horrendous even by those standards. The Kansas City Chiefs, on the other hand, beat one of the best teams in the league. Kansas City has infamously struggled against Cincinnati, but Mahomes has now beaten Burrow twice in a row. The Chiefs have a couple of days of extra rest for this game and the beat-up Bengals have work to do going off their performance against New England. Our football prediction is for the Kansas City Chiefs to make it 2-0 on Sunday.
Mahomes finished with 291 passing yards, 20 completions from 28 attempts, one touchdown and one interception against the Ravens. There were worries surrounding Kansas City’s receiving corps heading into this season, but that didn’t slow Mahomes down in week one. Rashee Rice had to build off a strong 2023 and he impressed with 103 receiving yards against Baltimore. However, rookie Xavier Worthy was the star of the show. He scored two touchdowns from three touches and finished with 47 receiving yards and 21 rushing. With Kelce in tow and Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown still to be unleashed, this Chiefs receiving corps will be too strong for a poor Cincinnati defence.
This week, we meet again. pic.twitter.com/gUYOZxxUAY
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 11, 2024
The Bengals had to play without Tee Higgins against the Patriots, and their offence suffered. Ja’Marr Chase had 62 receiving yards but Andrei Iosivas was their next best receiver with just 26. How much of that was down to Joe Burrow’s poor performance is yet to be seen, but there is no denying that they lack firepower without Higgins. Chase’s spot is also up for contention with drama surrounding his contract negotiations. If the Chiefs’ defence can step up and pressure Cincinnati, the Bengals may crumble under pressure again.
Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Betting Tips
The Kansas City Chiefs are clear favourites for this game, worth -227 with our online sportsbook. The Bengals are probably better than their season-opening performance and they will know that themselves. However, they still lost and were not unlucky against opposition who, on paper, they should have beaten comfortably. Mahomes has beaten the Bengals in his last two appearances against them and Cincinnati performed too poorly to justify backing them as road underdogs. However, this bet doesn’t present much value and we think there are better ways to bet on the Chiefs.
The Chiefs impressed with their performance against a team that is considered a Super Bowl contender this season. NFL betting has set the spread at 5.5 for this game and we think Kansas City can cover. They have covered in each of their last seven games and covered this same line last week. Back the Chiefs against the spread, worth -108.
Xavier Worthy announced himself to the NFL in style last week. The round-one pick only had three touches but caused maximum damage. He finished with 68 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Football betting markets will favour the wide receiver to have another big game with more targets. Bet on worthy to have over 3.5 receptions, worth +130.
FIRST NFL TOUCHDOWN FOR XAVIER WORTHY! WELCOME TO THE NFL! pic.twitter.com/3n3w9Tepkr
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 6, 2024
Ja’Marr Chase’s status for Sunday is up in the air after his contract negotiations hit a snag. However, with Tee Higgins also questionably through injury, the Bengals may have no choice but to play him. Chase was the only bright spark of their loss last week and may carry the offensive burden in Higgins’ absence. Bet the over on Chase’s receiving yards player prop.
Live betting is also an option for this game. We expect a Chiefs victory, but the Bengals are better than their performance in week one. It would be beneficial to look at the in-play markets after the game has kicked off, especially if Cincinnati is showing improvement from last week.
Kansas City Chiefs Team News
Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown did not practice on Wednesday and he is questionable for this game with a shoulder injury. There are otherwise no injury worries for Kansas City with Nick Bolton, Derrick Nnadi and Nazeeh Johnson all returning to full practice this week.
Cincinnati Bengals Team News
Tee Higgins is still nursing a hamstring injury and did not practice on Wednesday. He is doubtful for the Kansas City game. Amarius Mims was limited by the medical team in practice this week with a pectoral injury and is questionable for Sunday. Linebacker Logan Wilson and tight end Tanner Hudson both missed practice on Wednesday with knee injuries and are doubts.
