Chiefs vs Bengals, Student Predictions.

Coming off a monumental win against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs last Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs are just one win away from their third consecutive appearance at the Super Bowl. 

Last week’s game against the Bills had every football player on the edge of their seats, as most Chiefs fans lost all hopes of a win when the Bills scored a touchdown leaving 13 seconds on the clock. However, thanks to quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs marched down the field and scored a last second field goal, this sent the game into overtime. Thanks to the Chiefs winning the overtime coin toss, they were able to score the game winning touchdown, sending them to their fourth AFC championship game in a row.

This game will be played at Arrowhead stadium on Jan. 30 against the Cincinnati Bengals who are led by their second year quarterback Joe Burrow. Their high powered offense consists of players like star rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, wide receiver Tyler Boyd and running back Joe Mixon. 

The Chiefs lost to the Bengals 31-34 in week 17 of the regular season. It was an offensive shootout and unfortunately came down to a last second field goal for the Bengals. So, will the Bengals remain 2-0 in this close AFC matchup, or will the Chiefs keep their playoff streak going? Here’s what East students had to say about predictions for the AFC championship game:

Q: Who will win?

A: Jake Miller, sophomore- “The Chiefs, but barely. We only lost to the Bengals by three in the regular season, playoff Mahomes is also a lot better than regular season Mahomes, he’s a lot calmer, and has nine touchdowns and over 900 yards in only two games.”

Charlie Greenstein, sophomore- “I think the Chiefs are going to win, we also have a lot of momentum going into this coming off of the Bills game. We will also have some fire because we barely lost to them in week 17.”

Beck Rettenmaier, sophomore- “I really do think the Chiefs are going to win, we are playing at our house and we already lost to them this year, so I think that gives us more of an incentive to kick their butts. I also think if Mahomes plays like he did against Josh Allen then we’ll be good.”

Q: What are the keys to the game?

A: Jake Miller- “For the Chiefs, it’s not to turn the ball over and keep the run game strong. We showed we can pass but if we can run the ball too, we will probably win by quite a bit. For the Bengals, they have to keep pressure on Mahomes and get the ball in Ja’Marr Chase’s hands.”

Charlie Greenstein- “The Chiefs need to establish the run game better, I think that is probably our biggest weakness going into this game. Also if our defense steps up against Joe Burrow and against Ja’Marr Chase that will be huge. The Bengals run game and Joe Burrow will be their biggest strengths as well.”

Beck Rettenmaier- “For the Bengals, they just need to give the ball to Ja’Marr Chase. I think it’s crazy what he has been able to do in his rookie season. I think it’s more defensive for the Chiefs, If we can get some key stops against Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase we should be fine.”

Q: How do you expect the game to play out?

A: Jake Miller- “I feel it’s going to be an offensive shootout, and whoever has the better defense in this game is going to win. I feel Joe Burrow might get rattled, he’s never played at a high status NFL game like this at Arrowhead.”

Charlie Greenstein- “I think the first half will be very back and forth, and then we start running away with it in the fourth quarter. I also think the game will be a mixture of slower drives and big play quick drives.”

Beck Rettenmaier- “I think it will be a highly offensive game for sure. If the Bengals defense plays like the Bills played against us, then we might put 50 points up on them.”

Q: What players will have the biggest impact?

A: Jake Miller- “For the Bengals I see Tyler Boyd getting at least 100 receiving yards because Ja’Marr Chase will probably be double covered. I think Mahomes will get over 300 passing yards and Jerrick Mckinon will get into the endzone twice with over 70 yards.”

Charlie Greenstein- “For the Chiefs obviously Mahomes, at least 315 passing yards. I also think Kelce will have a huge game, 110 receiving yards for him. For the Bengals Joe Burrow will have a good game no matter what, and Joe Mixon will have good games because I feel like our defense will focus on covering the pass.”

Beck Rettenmaier- “On the Bengals side I think Ja’Marr Chase will have 150 receiving yards. I think Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce will obviously be big players in this game, both scoring at least one touchdown. I also think [wide receiver] Byron Pringle has also really stepped up into that wide receiver three role. Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow will both have 300 passing yards.”

Q:If the Chiefs don’t win, how disappointing will that be for you?

A: Jake Miller- “ I think we had a great season, we started off really poorly and went 12-5 with the second hardest schedule in the NFL. I think we’ll be back next year even if we don’t win, and I like the way Joe Burrow plays, so I wouldn’t be super upset if we lose to his team.”

Charlie Greenstein- “The beginning of the season was definitely disappointing, I didn’t even know if we would make the playoffs. We really stepped up during that later portion of the season. I do think the season will be disappointing if we lose to the Bengals because no matter what, we expect to make the superbowl with how good we’ve been recently.”

Beck Rettenmaier- “Honestly, it’s great to be a Chiefs fan right now, and I feel like we’re being a little spoiled as fans because if we lose it will be considered a down year. I will be pretty upset, because I know that our team is capable of beating the Bengals and winning a second ring.”

Q: What do you think the final score will be?

A: Jake Miller- “38-30, Chiefs.”

Charlie Greenstein- “37-20, Chiefs.”

Beck Rettenmaier- “35-30, Chiefs.”