Chiefs’ Week 17 loss to Bengals is key to AFC Championship game

On the latest episode of Arrowhead Pride’s Show and BK, Ron “the Show” Hughley, Brandon Kiley and Stephen Serda discussed how the Week 17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals woke up the sleeping giant heading into the playoffs.

(Listen to the podcast above or by clicking here. It is also available on Spotify.)

The Kansas City Chiefs fell to the Cincinnati Bengals 34-31 in Week 17 of the NFL regular season. The late-season loss cost the Chiefs a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs, but it served as a reminder they can’t sleep on any opponent, especially not one as talented as this Bengals team.

The Week 17 loss is key in the AFC Championship

Ron: “They saw the Bengals at the height of their powers and got beat. They now know they can be held an entire half to three points, they know one individual player can run absolutely roughshod over them. They know Joe Burrow can go in there toe to toe and even outplay Patrick Mahomes if need be. That wasn’t two months ago — that was the second to last game of the season. It is key for them that they played the Bengals — and lost to the Bengals...I don’t think they are going to need much push to know they’ll have to bring their true effort. Had they not played the Bengals and seen them face to face already, I’m not sure they’d have that type of understanding to know what the Bengals can do to them.”

Brandon: “This team needs to be pushed to get the most out of them. They knew what they had to do against the Bills. They knew Josh Allen was capable of pushing them, and he pushed and pushed...It’s so much fun to watch greatness on the brink of losing...We got to see the greatness of Patrick Mahomes last week because he was pushed by the opposing quarterback...I don’t think the Chiefs knew the first time around the Bengals could do that to them. I didn’t think they could do that to them. Now the Chiefs know they’ve got that inside of them and it means you’ll see Patrick Mahomes at the peak of his powers...The Chiefs are their own worst enemy a lot of the time. What we saw last week is what they look like when they are completely focused from start to finish.”

Ron: “They played the Steelers and knew they could turn it on at any moment when they needed to get it done...They tried that with the Bengals in Week 17 and it didn’t work–the Bengals got them that week...It is huge that they’ve already played them and it’s going to be the biggest key to this game...I think they were surprised that Ja’Marr Chase was that uncoverable. I think they were surprised Joe Burrow was that cool under pressure...I don’t think they will be this time.”

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