Today the Kansas City Chiefs will line up against a team that has a lot to play for. The Cincinnati Bengals are not only chasing a playoff berth but Chad Ochocinco is closing in on 10,000 yards for his career.
In addition, the Bengals are still playing with heavy hearts following the loss of teammate Chris Henry.
After the jump, the Bengals reasons to win along with thoughts on how the Chiefs will respond.
Win and they're in
If the Bengals beat the Chiefs today, they'll secure a spot in the playoffs for the second time since 1990. In fact, to help avoid a blackout the Bengals offered a chance to reserve a seat in the event of a home playoff game if tickets to today's game were bought.
"The opportunity to win the division this week is a great thing in front of our fans. Unfortunately, we've watched two teams do it the last two weeks (Minnesota and San Diego)," coach Marvin Lewis said this week.
"This is a big, important football game to us. It's a great way to close out the regular season at home, to get a victory here against the Chiefs. We know they're going to come in here ready to play. We'll get their fastball."
Chris Henry
The sudden passing of former Bengals WR Chris Henry has drastically affected the psyche of so many players on the team. A large chunk of the team went down to New Orleans on Tuesday for his funeral and they've talked during the week how much it has affected them.
Quarterback Carson Palmer and head coach Marvin Lewis offered eulogies at the funeral.
The players aren't saying they're going to win for Slim but you know it's on their minds.
Ochocinco goes for 10,000
Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco is 79 yards from 10,000 for his career.
Despite all of his antics (including claiming he'll throw a pinata with 2,000 $1 bills at today's game), he's put up tremendous numbers that will one day rival some of the league's all-time best.
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This will be an interesting game for the Chiefs because the other team has reasons to want it more than they do. How will the Chiefs respond? We've seen games like the Steelers where they played well and won. On the other side, we've seen games against the Chargers and Broncos where it seems like they're just giving up (even though all of them have said they're not quitting).
How will the Chiefs respond today?