Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Predictions and Props | AFC Championship Betting Preview Jan 29
Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Betting Preview
The Bengals look for back-to-back Super Bowl trips in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game against the Chiefs. WagerTalk NFL handicapper Andy Lang breaks down his betting prediction and player props around this Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals AFC Championship matchup.
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Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Betting Odds
Sunday, January 29 | AFC Championship Betting Notes |
---|---|
Point Spread: | Kansas City Chiefs -1.5 vs Cincinnati Bengals |
Total: | o/u 48 Points |
Location: | GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium |
Game Time: | 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT (Odds Above Courtesy of DraftKings) |
TV: | CBS |
Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Betting Analysis
For the fifth consecutive season, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the AFC Championship Game as they face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s title game.
The Chiefs have split those four matchups but Cincinnati got the better of them last year as they prevailed 27-24 in overtime. The Bengals took care of business last week 27-10 in Buffalo to earn their ticket to Kansas City.
The Chiefs hung on for a 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars despite Patrick Mahomes playing on an injured ankle.
These teams met during Week 13 of the regular season and ironically Cincinnati won by the exact same score of 27-24 in regulation. Kickoff is scheduled 6:30 PM EST/3:30 PST from Arrowhead Stadium.
All Eyes On Mahomes
The Kansas City Chiefs have been a Super Bowl favorite for much of the season but they can’t be underestimated at home in a Championship game despite some adversity.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 195 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions despite missing a large portion of the 2nd quarter with the ankle injury.
Chad Henne went 5-7 as he engineered a drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce while filling in. Kelce caught a whopping 14 of his 17 targets for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Isiah Pacheco was the teams leading runner with 95 yards on 12 carries.
The Chiefs defense held the Jags to only 349 total yards while forcing two turnovers in the victory. The Kansas City defense ranked 11th in yards allowed with 328.2 and 16th in points allowed with 21.7 per game.
Per usual, offense was their calling card as they were #1 in both yardage and scoring with 413.6 yards and 29.2 points per game. The health of Patrick Mahomes is obviously being closely monitored while Mecole Hardman is also questionable with a hip injury.
Bengals Got Chiefs Number
The Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Kansas City for a second straight season with hopes of punching their ticket to another Super Bowl. They upgraded their offensive line after allowing a league high 51 sacks in the 2021-22 campaign.
The injury bug bite them during the past month and cost them 3/5 of their linemen. However the reserves stepped up and allowed only one sack and three total hits on Joe Burrow. Burrow threw for 242 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Joe Mixon ran for 105 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries while catching two passes for 18 yards. Ja’Marr Chase was the teams leading receiver with 61 yards on five receptions with a touchdown. The Bengals defense held the Bills to 325 total yards but more importantly only 10 points.
The Cincinnati defense ranked 5th in points allowed with 20.1 per game and 16th in yards allowed per game with 335.7. Offense was their calling card as well, they rank 7th in scoring and 8th in total yardage with 24.9 points and 360.5 respectively.
Tight end Hayden Hurst (calf) and linebacker Joe Bachie are both questionable but expected to play. Offensive linemen Jonah Williams and Alex Cappa haven’t practiced yet this week.
Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals Prediction
The Kansas City Chiefs are currently favored by 1.5 points with a total of 48. As we mentioned before this is rematch from Week 13 of this season and last year’s AFC Championship game where Cincinnati prevailed 27-24 in both games.
Obviously the big story here is the status of Patrick Mahomes ankle. You have to expect Mahomes to be throwing plenty of passes as usual. However the deep ball might not be their as Mahomes will find it difficult to plant and throw.
The Chiefs are also be facing an uphill battle against the leagues 7th best rushing defense that allowed only 106.6 yards per game. I’m expecting Mahomes to dink and dunk early and often, especially to his safety blanket Travis Kelce.
Kelce has a receiving total set at 77.5 and he eclipsed that in 10 of 18 games this season. He fell short I’m Week 13 against Cincinnati with only 56 yards but caught 10 of 11 targets for 95 yards in last seasons AFC Championship.
The Bengals allowed the 7th most rushing yards this season with 57.8 per game. Kelce always seems to show up in big games and Mahomes needs him in this one. Let’s back Kelce on his over for yardage on Sunday night.
Player Prop Prediction: Travis Kelce Over 77.5 Receiving Yards -114 FanDuel
Bet On It | AFC & NFC Championship Betting Preview
The Bet On It crew is back for the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoff breaking down every matchup, providing betting analysis to keep in mind including this Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals AFC Championship clash.
Join Kelly, Marco, Joe, Ralph, Andy and Ariel every Wednesday through the Super Bowl as they give betting trends and angles along with player props to target!
NFL Odds Board
WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NFL point spreads, totals and betting percentages for all NFL Playoff games, including this Kansas City Chiefs vs Cincinnati Bengals showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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