Bengals have an opportunity to repeat recent history
This Sunday will be the fourth time the Cincinnati Bengals play on New Year's Eve. If you were a Bengals fan prior to the Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor days, you'll remember the last game on that date. On December 31, 2017, the Bengals went on the road to face the Baltimore Ravens in the […]
This Sunday will be the fourth time the Cincinnati Bengals play on New Year's Eve. If you were a Bengals fan prior to the Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor days, you'll remember the last game on that date.
On December 31, 2017, the Bengals went on the road to face the Baltimore Ravens in the final game of that season. A walk-off touchdown from Andy Dalton to Tyler Boyd eliminated the Ravens from playoff contention and put the Buffalo Bills in the postseason for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Cincinnati won't be able to do that this week against the Kansas City Chiefs, but there are other similarities to note.
Playing on the last day of the calendar year is already pretty rare on its own. In this case, the Bengals will be playing a team with nine wins as a touchdown-underdog on the road, just like they did six years ago in Baltimore.
The Bengals were 8-point dogs to the Ravens in 2017. They opened as 8-point dogs to the Chiefs this week.
That line has since moved to 7-points following the Chiefs' 20-14 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day. Las Vegas scored on defensive touchdowns in consecutive plays that put Kansas City's offense in a whole it couldn't dig out of for the rest of the game.
These are not the same Chiefs the Bengals have played four times since the 2021 season. Patrick Mahomes spends more time running around the backfield trying to find open receivers that aren't there than ever before. Travis Kelce seems to be hitting a wall at 33 years of age as well, which doesn't help matters for their once potent passing game either.
Regardless of their current struggles, the Chiefs still represent a challenge for the Bengals. Last Saturday saw the Jake Browning hype train crash and burn following three interceptions against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals lost 34-11 and saw their playoff odds dramatically fall.
Getting back in the playoff picture starts with overcoming the odds on New Year's Eve in a rival's home stadium once more.
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