The Kansas City Chiefs managed to find their way back to the AFC Championship Game for the fifth straight season, but the atmosphere surrounding this game is different than it has been in the past few seasons. The Chiefs managed to get by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round, but they saw their star quarterback Patrick Mahomes pick up a high ankle sprain along the way.
There are a lot of question marks surrounding the Chiefs as they head into their Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes' status obviously looms large, but this is a Bengals team that has had the Chiefs number in their past few meetings. And it's worth noting that there may not be a team hotter than Cincy in the NFL right now.
But still, you can never count out Mahomes and the Chiefs, even with this serious injury that he has suffered. The task is tall, but Kansas City has proven that they can do just about anything when they are playing their best football. As we near gametime, though, let's take a look at three different potential issues that could end up destroying the Chiefs in this big game against the Bengals.
3. Can the Chiefs pass rush get to Joe Burrow?
This isn't necessarily a knock on the Chiefs pass rush, because they clearly have a lot of talented players on their defensive line. Chris Jones is one of three finalists for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award after racking up 15.5 sacks, George Karlaftis III racked up six sacks in his rookie season, and Frank Clark and Michael Danna both chipped in five as well.
The problem is that Joe Burrow is playing some of the best football of his career right now. Burrow's offensive line was without several starters against the Bills, yet he only ended up getting sacked once in that game. Burrow is getting the ball out fast, and opposing defenses are having no success when it comes to getting pressure on him.
With some of the Bengals starters on the o-line trending towards being ready for this game, that could make things even more difficult for them in this one. Jones is likely going to see double-teams all day long, which means Karlaftis or Clark are likely going to need to have a big game. Burrow was getting sacked like crazy last postseason, and the Chiefs are going to need to pressure him like they did in the Championship Game last year if they want to win this game.
2. Is the Chiefs secondary going to be able to contain the Bengals receivers?
The Bengals have the best wide receiver trio in the NFL in Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd, which is why Burrow can afford to get the ball out quickly. These guys are each so good at getting open quickly that Burrow doesn't have to do much at times to keep the offense moving. And now, the Chiefs secondary is going to have a tall task going up against these guys.
L'Jarius Sneed has had a really good season, and his physical style of play on the outside makes him a good matchup for Higgins. Trent McDuffie has been a bit inconsistent in his rookie season, but he will likely spend a lot of time on Chase while getting safety help over the top as well. Boyd operates out of the slot most of the time, and will likely see either Jaylen Watson or Joshua Williams on him.
There are going to be mismatches for the Bengals to pick on throughout this game, simply because of how good they are. If McDuffie gets isolated against Chase on the outside, he's likely going to be toast. And if Sneed consistently gets burned by Higgins, the Chiefs are going to be in trouble. The Bengals wide receiver corps creates problems for everyone, and the Chiefs are going to have to get crafty in their efforts to slow them down.
1. Will Patrick Mahomes be good to go for this game?
Of course, the biggest potential issue involves Mahomes' status for this game. He's going to play, the question is whether or not he will be healthy enough to make his typical impact. And against a tough Bengals team, this contest is likely going to come down to whether or not Mahomes can make enough plays to keep the Chiefs in this game.
Against the Jaguars, Mahomes missed a decent chunk of the second quarter while treating his ankle, and while he managed to come back for the second half, he was clearly hobbled by the injury. Mahomes wasn't himself, and he's lucky the Jaguars made several mistakes along the way, or else the Chiefs probably would have been eliminated.
The Mahomes we saw against the Jaguars probably isn't going to be able to beat the Bengals. Cincinnati's offense is a well-oiled machine that doesn't make many mistakes, and their defense is aggressive and will be looking to make Mahomes' life miserable. If Mahomes somehow shakes off this injury, the Chiefs will have a chance, but otherwise, this could be an uphill battle for them.
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