KC CHIEFS vs. CINCY BENGALS: AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! Who wins? Your predictions?

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

What really concerns me about Mahomes ankle is the coverages we'll see in response.

If he isn't a threat to move the pocket and/or run, we're going to see a LOT of man coverage. And this team just doesn't have a ton of guys who excel against Man. Moreover, they can run man without having to commit a spy to Mahomes as a potential running threat.

So you're gonna see not just man coverages, but man with an extra rusher with some fair frequency. And when that guys not rushing, you could see 2-high robber coverages where he looks to create turnovers.

Honestly, the guy I think we truly need back this week, is Mecole Hardman. You put Hardman out there with Toney and both of them can do enough lateral motion and drag routes to mess with some of those man coverages and open up plenty of field.

They can win quickly and find space and when they find space, they're a threat to house one.

We need Hardman back in a big way, IMO.

Against the Jags, Kelce had 17 targets. Toney had 7. Everybody else had 2 max.

That’s the one major advantage we have this week. If Hardman is back then we can use a lot of things in the playbook.

Get your best YAC guys the ball. Kelce, McKinnon, Hardman, Toney. Everyone else should have similar 2 targets max.

[jettio]

Chiefs OL and Blake Bell should bring some late in the play nastiness like there was in the Titans game.

Nothing that draws penalties, but DJ Reader, Germaine Pratt and Mike Hilton should get a taste.

[Couch-Potato]

20% of CP thinks we'll lose!?

[O.city]

They've lost 3 straight to this squad and have heard about it all year.

**** all you guys. That place is gonna be a madhouse and they're gonna play with their tits on fire.

There's no god damn way we don't get an "over my dead body" game from Mahomes. Just no chance.

[ChiTown]

KC 27
Cincy 24

[HC_Chief]

Get the running game going with Pacheco; keep the D honest. If they want to drop 8 and take away the pass, gash them on the ground. I suspect we will get away from the RPO, considering Mahomes' ankle, so the running game will need to be deliberate. Grind them up. Once they start creeping up to stop the run, hit 'em through the air. Leverage speedy WRs on sweeps and screens.

DO NOT TURN THE BALL OVER. Turnovers have been the deciding factor against the Bungles.

On D, pressure with front four will be critical. Our DL MUST win in the trenches. Don't bring the LBs on blitzes... keep them off the LOS to fill gaps, else Mixon will gash us.

WRAP UP on tackles! Skip that "drop shoulder and try to punish the ball carrier" bullshit. Wrap them up, hold them in place, allowing teammates to assist and finish the tackle. Stop all YAC (as much as possible).

Chase, Higgins, and Boyd are legitimately the most difficult WR trio we will face all season. Their QB is crazy accurate. Get in Burrow's face, obscure his vision, get hands up in the passing lanes. Put McDuffie on Chase, Sneed on Higgins, Watson on Boyd, and keep safeties deep. Force them to dump off to the TE or swing it out to RBs in the flat. Just do not leave those receivers uncovered to find gaps in a zone!!! Bump & run, physical coverage may slow those bastards down. We need just enough to allow our DL to get pressure. Just make Burrow hesitate... otherwise he will carve us up like he has everyone else.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by HC_Chief

Get the running game going with Pacheco; keep the D honest. If they want to drop 8 and take away the pass, gash them on the ground. I suspect we will get away from the RPO, considering Mahomes' ankle, so the running game will need to be deliberate. Grind them up. Once they start creeping up to stop the run, hit 'em through the air. Leverage speedy WRs on sweeps and screens.

DO NOT TURN THE BALL OVER. Turnovers have been the deciding factor against the Bungles.

On D, pressure with front four will be critical. Our DL MUST win in the trenches. Don't bring the LBs on blitzes... keep them off the LOS to fill gaps, else Mixon will gash us. What is Perine's status? He was carted off, so I expect he will be out?

WRAP UP on tackles! Skip that "drop shoulder and try to punish the ball carrier" bullshit. Wrap them up, hold them in place, allowing teammates to assist and finish the tackle. Stop all YAC (as much as possible).

Chase, Higgins, and Boyd are legitimately the most difficult WR trio we will face all season. Their QB is crazy accurate. Get in Burrow's face, obscure his vision, get hands up in the passing lanes. Put McDuffie on Chase, Sneed on Higgins, Watson on Boyd, and keep safeties deep. Force them to dump off to the TE or swing it out to RBs in the flat. Just do not leave those receivers uncovered to find gaps in a zone!!! Bump & run, physical coverage may slow those bastards down. We need just enough to allow our DL to get pressure. Just make Burrow hesitate... otherwise he will carve us up like he has everyone else.

At home in the Wildcard game, Joe B had a QBR of <50 against the Ravens, while Ravens backup Huntley had a +70 QBR. The Ravens got pressure on Burrow and made him look human. That's the key. The Bills did absolutely NOTHING to make Burrow uncomfortable. They were surgically carved up and had no answer for anything they did. Leslie Frasier looked like he was a deer in the headlights.

[comochiefsfan]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

At home in the Wildcard game, Joe B had a QBR of <50 against the Ravens, while Ravens backup Huntley had a +70 QBR. The Ravens got pressure on Burrow and made him look human. That's the key. The Bills did absolutely NOTHING to make Burrow uncomfortable. They were surgically carved up and had no answer for anything they did. Leslie Frasier looked like he was a deer in the headlights.

Chris Jones MUST show up in this game. He simply must.

Otherwise it’s going to be a tall tall order to win this thing.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by comochiefsfan

Chris Jones MUST show up in this game. He simply must.

Otherwise it’s going to be a tall tall order to win this thing.

He was really good against Jacksonville, all kibitzing to the contrary.

Jones shows up in every game.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

He was really good against Jacksonville, all kibitzing to the contrary.

Jones shows up in every game.

We need him to show up on the stat sheet. Just wreck shit inside.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by comochiefsfan

Chris Jones MUST show up in this game. He simply must.

Otherwise it’s going to be a tall tall order to win this thing.

It's more than just CJ (who has been absolutely phenomenal). This is a design issue for Spags. We have to be able to disguise and design the right D to get pressure on Joe B without completely leaving our DB's on islands. It's NOT an easy task for Spags and this D, but you got to be creative and get pressure on Burrow.

[PAChiefsGuy]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

At home in the Wildcard game, Joe B had a QBR of <50 against the Ravens, while Ravens backup Huntley had a +70 QBR. The Ravens got pressure on Burrow and made him look human. That's the key. The Bills did absolutely NOTHING to make Burrow uncomfortable. They were surgically carved up and had no answer for anything they did. Leslie Frasier looked like he was a deer in the headlights.

We definitely need to get pressure with our front 4. Burrow is extremely good against the blitz.

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by PAChiefsGuy

We definitely need to get pressure with our front 4. Burrow is extremely good against the blitz.

It's the same situation as teams face playing Mahomes. You're playing a QB you can't really blitz so you have to find a way to stop them with zone looks, high safeties, extra DBs.

I think we all know our D-line hasn't been great at generating pressure this year, so it's going to be a challenge.

[jettio]

Originally Posted by Razaele

It's the same situation as teams face playing Mahomes. You're playing a QB you can't really blitz so you have to find a way to stop them with zone looks, high safeties, extra DBs.

I think we all know our D-line hasn't been great at generating pressure this year, so it's going to be a challenge.

That Bengals OL may be more vulnerable on a field with decent footing.

[comochiefsfan]

If Pat was 100% I’d feel really confident.

Now I don’t know.

In a way it’s a little comforting and the pressure subsides a bit.

If it turns out he just doesn’t have it and we get beat then you just kind of say “oh well, tough luck” and move on to next year.

If we win though…this could go down as an all timer hall of fame performance from Pat.

Excited to see what happens.