After last season's improbable playoff run, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals are proving they aren't a one-hit-wonder. The Bengals just trounced the Buffalo Bills with a 27-10 road win in the Divisional Round. The Bills were Super Bowl favorites for most of the season, and Cincy made easy work of them on their own, snowy turf.

Cincinnati advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the second straight year, and it will face a familiar foe in the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals have become the Chiefs' kryptonite recently, winning all three of their last few games against them. That includes last year's AFC Championship Game, when the Bengals erased an 18-point deficit to stun the Chiefs in Arrowhead.

This time around, Cincinnati is surprisingly a slight favorite. This marks the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era that the Chiefs are underdogs in the playoffs, at home no less. Perhaps people have caught on to the Bengals' recent dominance in the series, plus Mahomes' ankle injury.

That said, this game will be anything but easy for Cincinnati. The Chiefs are still one of the best teams in football, and Mahomes on one leg is still elite. Make no mistake, the Bengals will need all hands on deck to advance to their second straight Super Bowl.

Obviously, Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and others on offense will have to play well. However, the key to beating the Chiefs lies on defense. In particular, one player must have a great game against Mahomes and the Kansas City offense.

Bengals X-Factor vs. Chiefs: Germaine Pratt

It's an unconventional pick, but Cincinnati's X-factor for this game is middle linebacker Germaine Pratt. He excelled in the center of the defense this season, posting a career-high 99 tackles and 10 passes defended. Against the Bills in the Divisional Round, Pratt had a solid game with five tackles and two passes defended.

That's great, but the question is, what makes Pratt the most important player on Cincinnati's defense? Well, it comes down to who he matches up against.

As the middle linebacker, Pratt plays a massive role in defending both the run and the pass. Starting with the former, Pratt will be one of the players most responsible for containing Isiah Pacheco and other Chiefs' running backs. Pacheco has been a rookie sensation for Kansas City, and Cincinnati's defense cannot afford to let him get going.

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Xavier Worthy in middle, one silhouetted Chiefs player on each side, Chiefs logo, football field in background

Ben Cooper Ā·

Moving onto the passing game, Pratt will have arguably the most important role of any Bengals defender, and there are two reasons why. For one, he will have to keep a constant eye on Mahomes, whether he decides to throw or take off. Mahomes won't be as mobile as usual due to his injury, but it's still critical to keep him in check.

The second reason is that Germaine Pratt will likely match up with Travis Kelce quite often. The tight end is the biggest threat on the Chiefs' roster and one of the best offensive players in the entire league. Against Jacksonville in the Divisional Round, Kelce went off for 98 yards and two touchdowns on 14 catches, a playoff record for a tight end.

Now, Pratt likely won't go one-on-one with Kelce too much, and doing so is just asking for trouble. However, he will likely be the primary defender in a double-coverage scenario, and he'll need to keep the superstar under wraps.

Containing Kelce is the key to the Bengals winning this game. The Jaguars couldn't do it, and it wound up costing them their season. Cincinnati needs to make sure the same doesn't happen again, and that starts with Pratt.