Kansas City vs. Cincinnati: What to Watch For

The Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs will meet for the second consecutive year in the A.F.C. championship game. Last season, the Bengals (12-4) came back from an 18-point deficit to deny Kansas City (14-3) its third straight Super Bowl appearance.

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes has dominated the N.F.L. since he became the starter in 2018, winning the Most Valuable Player Award that season and a Super Bowl the following one. But Cincinnati has been a persistent roadblock for Mahomes and Kansas City; the Bengals have prevailed in their last three matchups.

Sunday’s game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on CBS. Betting lines suggest a tight matchup, with Kansas City favored by 1 point. Here are story lines to watch:

Patrick Mahomes’s ankle

Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Arden Key landed on Mahomes’s ankle while trying to pull him down during the first quarter in Kansas City’s win over the Jaguars in the divisional round last weekend. Mahomes limped back on the field and then was forced to go to the locker room by his team’s medical staff, which prompted a frustrated outburst from him on the sidelines. He returned to the game in the second quarter with his right shoe wrapped in athletic tape, moving without the elusiveness and scrambling that make him one of the most talented players in the N.F.L.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/sports/football/afc-bengals-chiefs-watch-time.html