What I REID Into It

January 29, 2022

The time has come for the Kansas City Chiefs to hit the repeat key as they aim to repeat as the AFC champions. The Chiefs are set to host the AFC championship game for a record setting fourth straight year. For the first time in franchise post-season history the opponent is the Cincinnati Bengals.

Both teams arrived at this point in very similar ways. The Chiefs beat Buffalo in a very memorable comeback with a 42-36 overtime win. The Bengals beat top seeded Tennessee Titans thanks to a last second field goal that gave them a 19-16 victory. NFL fans love the edge of the seat action and of course TV networks love the high viewership that come with games that are decided on the final play. CBS will be on hand this week with a familiar crew of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo providing the commentary.

The Chiefs, now 14-5, enter the game pretty healthy considering they are playing the team’s 20th game of the season. CB Rashad Fenton who missed the Bills game returned to practice on Wednesday. S Tyrann Mathieu remained in concussion protocol and missed practice but is projected to return to the field on Sunday afternoon. The Bengals, now 12-7, have a lot of confidence and report no major injuries as they travel to Kansas City.

Last week the Chiefs talked about having a different outcome than what they saw in a week 5 matchup vs Buffalo. This week the Chiefs are hoping for a different result than a week 17 game that saw the Chiefs lose 34-31 at Cincinnati. Not much time to forget this one as it was just played on January 2nd. After beating the Raiders and then toppling the AFC’s top seed Tennessee on the road the Bengals are a confident team who continue to surprise many NFL followers.

The Chiefs are also a confident team as they have won six straight playoff games at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Many players on the roster have played a role in the Chiefs being back to back AFC champions. While the Chiefs vs Bills game was pretty wild with a wonderful outcome one can expect this game to turn into an explosive scoring fest.

Having more experience and playing at home will help the Chiefs repeat a familiar outcome again this week as the Chiefs beat the Bengals to return to a familiar place that is the Super Bowl.

That’s What I REID Into It for this week.