Now that the Los Angeles Rams have dispatched the Arizona Cardinals, there are just eight teams remaining in the chase for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In the NFC, the Rams, Green Bay, San Francisco and Tampa Bay are still alive; in the AFC, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Tennessee and Buffalo are still in contention. This means that, in the AFC, there are four different scenarios for the AFC Championship.
Let’s take a look at each of them, along with our thoughts about the possible NFL betting outcomes.
NFL News: Possible AFC Championship Matchups
Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs
This would be a rematch of the Week 17 showdown in Cincinnati, when the Bengals came back and won, 34-31. At the time, Cincinnati was desperately chasing down an AFC North title, while the Chiefs had already clinched their division. Joe Burrow was finishing up a masterful run at the end of the 2021 regular season – one that extended, somewhat, into the Bengals’ win over Las Vegas in the wild card round.
If the Bengals made it past the Titans, then we saw the NFL’s fifth-best rushing defense control a refreshed Derrick Henry (who, according to reports, is still not at 100% from his foot injury), and we saw Burrow continue his dynamic run with the ball. We also probably saw Joe Mixon run the ball well enough against a physical Titans defense to keep drives going. We also probably saw Ryan Tannehill throw an interception or two against the opportunistic Bengals secondary.
And if the Chiefs made it past Buffalo? The battle between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes was likely a dynamic one, with the teams possibly scoring into the 70s as far as the point total goes. The Chiefs’ defense has been stout this year, although not as stout as the Bills’ has. We’ve also seen Buffalo cough up some ugly losses this year, some of those bad showings coming right after transcendent performances.
In this scenario, I see Kansas City getting revenge for Week 17 and delivering the win.
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
This is the matchup that I see most likely. Both Burrow and Allen are performing at an extremely high level; Allen broke the 300-yard passing barrier on a night when it was three degrees outside, going 21 of 25 on a night when the frozen ball would have been even more difficult than usual for receivers to catch. Buffalo got a big night out of Devin Singletary running the ball against New England, and Kansas City is also susceptible to the pounding of the ground game.
In this battle of top quarterbacks, I would look at the team with the better defense. Buffalo is the only team in the league in the top five for both offense and defense as a team, and I can see their defense putting the clamps on Joe Burrow – at least enough to let the Bills escape with a win.
Kansas City Chiefs at Tennessee Titans
The Chiefs played at Nissan Stadium on October 24 and got crushed, 27-3. Back then, Derrick Henry was still running at full strength, and the Chiefs had not figured out how to run their offense with short- and intermediate-length pass routes. Also, their defense was still a work in progress. Between then and now, the Chiefs have become a high-octane operation. The Chiefs have posted a 9-1 record since that loss, and it’s hard to imagine the Titans keeping up in this track meet. I would pick Kansas City to win this, although it would likely come down to the last possession.
Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
These two teams met at Arrowhead in Week 5, and Buffalo rolled by 18 points. Josh Allen threw for 315 yards and three scores and ran for another touchdown, rumbling for 59 yards. The Chiefs were a different team on both sides of the ball then; in the wild card win over Pittsburgh, Kansas City got five touchdown passes out of Patrick Mahomes. Those are the same Pittsburgh Steelers who beat Buffalo in Week 1. In this matchup, which I could also see coming down to the last possession, we have two heavyweights swinging against each other on both offense and defense. In the final analysis, though, the Bills have improved more since last year than the Chiefs have, and so I would take the Bills in upset fashion.
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