KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs are accustomed to playing each other late in the season, when the stakes are at their highest — like an AFC championship, for instance, and along with it a spot in the Super Bowl.
The rivals have met five times since 2022 and all in December or January, including those two playoff games.
That makes their Week 2 matchup Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium a bit out of the ordinary, though no less important for two teams with postseason expectations every year.
The Bengals need to bounce back from a humbling loss to the Patriots last week while the Chiefs are coming off an opening-night win over Baltimore that took them to their limit.
“For us, it’s just Week 2. It’s the next opponent, and we’re excited to turn the page and move forward,” Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said. “We got the taste out of our mouth, we’re done with that and now we get a chance to move forward.”
The prep shouldn’t be too difficult, given how often the Bengals and Chiefs have played each other. Their most recent matchup was last New Year’s Eve, when Kansas City clinched another AFC West title with a 25-17 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
“There’s a lot of knowledge on both sides of it for us and them, just because we feel like we played them as much as we played a divisional opponent,” Taylor said. “We played them as much as we played any team in the league outside the division.”
That familiarity has led to some close games.
In January 2022, the Bengals clinched the AFC North when Evan McPherson kicked a 20-yard field goal as time expired. When they met again later that month in Kansas City, in the AFC title game, McPherson drilled a field goal in overtime to send the Bengals to the Super Bowl. And the following season, in December, Joe Burrow rallied Cincinnati from a fourth-quarter deficit for another 27-24 win — its third over the juggernaut Chiefs in a single calendar year.
Kansas City exacted a modicum of revenge in January 2023, though, when the teams met again for the AFC championship, and Harrison Butker hit a 45-yard field goal with 3 seconds remaining to send the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl.
“These games are going to matter at the end of the year,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “Obviously it’s early in the season. Everybody’s working through stuff. Everybody’s trying to get better and better. But you know that this could be a tiebreaker, whatever you want to call it, at the end of the year, that determines seeding for the playoffs. So there’s definitely a rise in intensity, especially in these games against other contenders.”
Turnover troubles
The Bengals can largely trace their clunky Week 1 performance to turnovers. In the first half against New England, tight end Tanner Hudson fumbled away the ball at the goal line after catching what appeared to be a certain touchdown pass. Later, Charlie Jones fumbled away a punt, leading to a Patriots field goal. Then, the Bengals came up a yard short on a fourth down pass, turning the ball over.
Chase’s contract
Nothing has been resolved when it comes to Ja’Marr Chase and his contract status. He has two years left on his rookie deal but expects an extension that will make the Bengals wide receiver among the highest-paid in the league. Chase didn’t participate in training camp, then practiced two days last week, before catching six passes for 62 yards against New England.
“We’ve had the discussions I feel like were needed,” Burrow said. “He’s ready to go out and perform.”
Catching Kelce
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was outperformed by his understudy, Noah Gray, against the Ravens, catching three passes for 34 yards with a drop. But Kelce attracted so much attention that he helped to open up the field for Xavier Worthy and fellow wide receiver Rashee Rice, who hauled in seven passes for 103 yards in the 27-20 victory.
Run to daylight
The Bengals and Chiefs will both be looking to get more out of their ground game Sunday. Bengals running back Zack Moss averaged nearly 5 yards per carry but only had nine chances, gaining 44 yards with a touchdown. Chiefs counterpart Isiah Pacheco had more opportunities, carrying the ball 15 times, but less success, finishing with just 45 yards and a score.
‘X’ marks the spot
The Chiefs got more than they expected last week out of Worthy, their first-round pick. He ran for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball, then hauled in a TD pass later in the game. And with Marquise Brown expected to miss another game while he recovers from a shoulder injury, Worthy could remain a big part of the offense against Cincinnati.
“It’s been cool just to have that — do what I did (last) Thursday,” Worthy said. “But I have, like, a 24-hour rule. You do it, you live it out, then you forget about it and it’s on to the next. So it’s on to the next.”
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AP Sports Writer Mitch Stacy in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
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