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Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (5-1) at Arrowhead Stadium
NFL Week 7: 8:20ET on Sunday, October 21, 2018
The Sunday night contest between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs has the potential to be the best of the weekend. Cincinnati enters this game 4-2, tied for tops in the AFC North Division, while Kansas City is 5-1, tops in the AFC West. Cincinnati leads the all-time series between these two teams, 15-13-0, thanks 24 consecutive victories, including a 36-21 victory in October 2015.
Last Second Touchdown Helps Steelers Dump Bengals
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One of the most hated rival reason football was renewed on Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 28-21 with a 31-yard touchdown reception by Antonio Brown with 10 seconds left in the game. That spoiled a two-touchdown performance by quarterback Andy Dalton.
Cincinnati took the lead in the first quarter when Dalton found Tyler Boyd for a 2-yard touchdown reception. Pittsburgh would respond with 14 straight points, as James Conner scored two one-yard touchdown runs to put the Steelers on top. With 19 seconds left in the half, Dalton found Boyd once again, this time for 14 yards to tie the game at 14.
Pittsburgh would retake the lead on a 21 and 24-yard field goal but Cincinnati would respond when Joe Mixon scored from for yards out to put the Bengals back on top by one. However, Pittsburgh would prevail when Ben Roethlisberger connected with Brown on a 31-yard strike to put the Steelers on top 28-21.
Cincinnati is averaging 29 points per game on 352.1 yards of offense per contest. They are struggling running the ball, averaging just 89.8 yards per contest. Their defense is only allowing 26.3 points per game but is allowing 409.2 yards of offense. Dalton is having an impressive season, throwing for 1674 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Last Second Field Goal Gives Patriots Victory over Chiefs, 43-40
It was the game of the year as a New England Patriots got a game-ending field-goal from Stephen Gostkowski two down the Kansas City Chiefs, 43-40. Gostkowski hit for field goals in the game to help New England in the victory. Kansas City quarterback Pat Mahomes threw for 352 yards and four touchdowns in the loss.
The two teams traded field goals before New England would take the lead on a Sony Michel 4 yard touchdown run. The Chiefs would pull within four when Tom Brady found Julian Edelman for 17-yard strike to give New England 11 point lead. After a third Chief’s field-goal, Michel scored from 1 yard out to give New England a 24-9 lead at the half.
Kansas City would finally find the end zone on their first possession of the second half when Mahomes connected on a 67-yard touchdown pass to Kareem Hunt to pull the Chiefs within eight. The teams traded field goals before Mahomes connected with Tyreek Hill on a 14-yard touchdown pass to pull Kansas City within one.
After a Patriots field-goal, Mahomes found Hill once again giving Kansas City their first lead of the game. However, Brady scored from four yards out to give New England back the lead before Gostkowski hit a 50-yard field goal to put the Patriots up by seven. On the first play of the Chief’s next drive, Mahomes threw a 75-yard strike to Hill to tie the score at 40. However, Gostkowski hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired to give New England the win.
Kansas City is averaging 35.8 points per game while giving up 28.7. They are one of the leading teams in the NFL, averaging 418.5 yards per game, but have given up the most yards per game on average at 468.1. Mahomes is having an MVP type season, completing 63.7 percent of his passes for 1865 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Trends:
Cincinnati:
- 4-0 ATS in their last four games against teams with a winning record.
- 8-1 ATS in their last nine games against AFC teams.
- 6-2 ATS in their last eight games overall.
- 5-2 ATS in their last five games on the road.
Kansas City:
- 4-0 ATS in their last four games in October.
- 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
- 5-1 ATS in their last six games at home.
- 5-2 ATS in their last seven games at home against teams with a winning record on the road.
The Winner Prediction
This game has the makings of a true classic. Maybe not as good as last week’s game between the Chiefs and Patriots, but both these teams can score which should make for an extremely entertaining game. Kansas City was just a few seconds away from an undefeated record and no doubt they will want to work out some of their frustrations in this contest. The Chiefs are favored by 5.5, which is a lot but it looks like they pull out this game.
The Pick: Kansas City Chiefs -5.5 (-110)
The Total
As mentioned, these are two of the highest scoring teams in the league, so points should be abundant. Even at 58.5 as the total, that is likely to be a little low. This game could easily finish, 35-31.
The Pick: Over 58.5 (-110)