Bengals at Chiefs: 5 storylines to watch in Sunday night’s game

The Cincinnati Bengals weren’t able to break a losing streak in the series against Pittsburgh last week, but now they have a chance to try to end another drought.

Cincinnati (4-2) will battle the prime-time beast as it looks to bounce back from a seventh consecutive loss to the Steelers. The Bengals, who gave up the game-winning touchdown with seven seconds left, face the Kansas City Chiefs (5-1) on Sunday Night Football. They have their last eight games on Sunday night and are 3-15 in their last 18 games in that time slot.

»RELATED: What Chiefs coach said about Sunday’s matchup

»RELATED: A closer look at the Chiefs

Kansas City is coming off a 43-40 shootout loss at New England a week ago on Sunday Night Football, a game in which the Chiefs overcame a 15-point halftime deficit and tied it with 3:03 left only to lose on a field goal as time expired.

Here are five storylines to watch as the Bengals try to maintain their lead in the AFC North:

1. Next man up

The back end of the Bengals’ defense is so depleted they waived wide receiver Auden Tate to sign cornerback KeiVarae Russell from the practice squad (Tate cleared waivers and was signed to the practice squad Friday), but it’s not a good time to be relying on newcomers.

»RELATED: Matchup vs. Chiefs ‘great opportunity’ for Bengals D

Patrick Mahomes has a Brett Favre-like arm and will be licking his chops at the chance to test the next men up in the Bengals’ defense. Nickel corner Daqueze Dennard is out with a shoulder injury, linebacker Nick Vigil is sidelined with a knee injury and safety Shawn Williams is questionable after suffering a concussion against Pittsburgh. Williams was a full participant in practice Friday, which could be a positive sign he will be available.

Cincinnati is going to need big games from cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson and free safety Jessie Bates, and the Bengals will have to get some pressure on Mahomes, who has been sacked just six times this season (an NFL low).

2. Run, run, run

Kansas City leads the league with 35.8 points per game, and although Cincinnati also brings an offense capable of putting up points, it could help the defense if the Bengals can control the clock a little more than past games with more of an emphasis in the running game.

Both defenses have struggled this season, so it could be a shootout and Cincinnati will have to keep up somehow or slow the game down.

“That’s one of those things you’re always thinking about,” left guard Clint Boling said. “You want to control the game, keep the ground game going and keep their offense off the field. That’s even more important against this offense than any other.”

The last time Bengals running back Joe Mixon played a Mahomes-quarterbacked team, he racked up 377 yards from scrimmage and had five touchdowns to help lead Oklahoma to a 66-59 win over Texas Tech in 2016. Mahomes threw for 734 yards and five touchdowns.

Kansas City’s offense ranks better in most categories, but Cincinnati leads the league while scoring touchdowns on 75 percent of their trips to the red zone.

“We just try to score,” Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “That’s it. If we do a 15-play drive, great. If we do a 1-play drive, we’ll take it. If we turn the ball back over to them without scoring then a potent team can give you trouble. The thing you would hate to have happen is you get into a one-sided thing where you have to throw it every play. No one likes that. We just got to play our best game. That’s the deal.”

3. Spread the field

When the Bengals are throwing the ball, they could benefit from John Ross’ anticipated return.

Although he’s not proven a reliable target yet, he does open things up for A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd. Boyd has been seeing more double coverage the past two games while Ross was out with a groin injury, and although he is playing the best football of his career, it will help to have another deep threat that the Chiefs will have to keep track of.

»RELATED: Bengals receiver strives to be more consistent

“That’s what I’m here for,” Ross said. “I’m going to do my best to take pressure off A.J., take pressure off Tyler and the run game.”

Green has struggled with drops at times but remains the Bengals’ leading receiver with 494 yards and five touchdowns on 33 catches. Boyd adds 455 yards and four touchdowns on 37 catches.

4. Special teams battle

After a rough start to the season on special teams, especially in Weeks 4 and 5, the Bengals turned things around in that phase of the game against the Steelers. Their first two scores were set up in large part because of special teams play.

Kevin Huber’s 62-yard punt flipped field position to set up the first touchdown, and Alex Erickson’s 47-yard kickoff return allowed Cincinnati to tie the game at 14-14 going into halftime. Huber ended up with two punts over 60 yards and Erickson had two returns for more than 40 yards.

Cincinnati will need another big game in that area, as the Chiefs also are capable of big plays. They have two returns for touchdowns already this season.

“When you look at their football team, they’ve been explosive on special teams with both (Tyreek) Hill and then last week with the long kickoff return (by Tremon Smith),” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “… We understand that we have to do a great job in the special teams phase.”

5. Close eye on Burfict

Vontaze Burfict can’t seem to avoid controversy, and he’ll continue to be watched closely this week.

Just two games after returning from suspension, he was being accused of dirty play against the Steelers. He allegedly threatened wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after a hit to the helmet on Antonio Brown, where Pittsburgh players felt he purposely led with his elbow, and the league was reportedly reviewing three separate plays he was involved in.

Burfict missed the start of the 2017 season because of a hit on Chiefs fullback Anthony Sherman — when Sherman was in a defenseless position — last year in a preseason game.

Lewis deflected questions about Burfict’s play this week in his Monday press conference, and Burfict has avoided interviews with media since walking out of the locker room yelling at a Pittsburgh reporter following Sunday’s game.

“Everybody makes comments on everything No. 55 does,” Lewis said Monday. “They don’t comment on anything anybody else does. Let’s just leave it at that.”


SUNDAY’S GAME

Bengals at Chiefs, 8:20 p.m., NBC, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7

About the Author