Tag: AFC Championship

Bengals have 7 percent chance to win Super Bowl via FiveThirtyEight’s model

Underdogs again: One model really doesn’t like Bengals’ chances.

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The underdog storyline continues across the media landscape for the Cincinnati Bengals heading into championship Sunday.

That stems over to FiveThirtyEight, who has their updated odds for each team remaining in the playoffs on making the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl. The Bengals are seen as pretty unlikely to even reach the Super Bowl, let alone win it. FTE gives the Bengals just a 7 percent chance to win it all on February 13, the lowest of the final four.

In fact, they only have a 19 percent chance to even beat the Chiefs in Kansas City and reach the Super Bowl, where they would likely still be viewed as the underdog regardless of if they face the Los Angeles Rams or San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs are the odds-on favorite now to win their second Super Bowl in three seasons at 47 percent, followed by the Rams at 32 percent and the 49ers at 14 percent, then the Bengals at the aforementioned 7 percent.

The Chiefs are an 81 percent favorite to beat the Bengals while the Rams have a 64 percent chance to beat the 49ers.

But at this point, Cincinnati wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Tracking former Browns still playing in the NFL’s conference championship round

Here are the ex-Browns on the remaining four teams battling in the AFC and NFC Championship games

A year ago, the Cleveland Browns just missed out on advancing to the AFC Championship game. This year didn’t turn out nearly as well for a variety of factors, unfortunately.

There are still a few former Browns players still alive in the NFL’s final four this weekend. Some play key roles for the teams competing to advance to Super Bowl LVI, while others likely won’t see the field.

Here are the ex-Browns on the remaining four teams battling in the AFC and NFC Championship games

Bengals reveal jersey combo for AFC championship vs. Chiefs

The Bengals will roll with a familiar jersey look in the AFC title game against the Chiefs.

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The Cincinnati Bengals will make it two in a row when it comes to jersey selection next weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tuesday, the Bengals announced they will wear white jerseys and pants in Kansas City, with black stripes bringing the look together.

That’s the exact same look they rocked on the road in the divisional round while taking down the Tennessee Titans.

Actual jersey record hasn’t mattered much to the Bengals in the playoffs so far. They had been 1-4 in black jerseys before wearing those during the wild card win over the Las Vegas Raiders to start the postseason.

For the Bengals, the hope is they get a win so they can start thinking about what they might wear in the Super Bowl next.

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San Francisco vs Los Angeles Rams Prediction, AFC Championship Game Preview

San Francisco vs Los Angeles Rams prediction, game preview, how to watch: NFC Championship

San Francisco vs Los Angeles Rams prediction, game preview, how to watch and lines for the NFC Championship, Sunday, January 30

San Francisco vs Los Angeles Rams NFC Championship How To Watch

Date: Sunday, January 30
Game Time: 6:30 ET
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA
How To Watch: FOX
Record: San Francisco (10-7), Los Angles Rams (12-5)
– Sign up and live stream sports on ESPN+
– Today’s Best Bet to Lock in Now

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– All of the CFN NFL Predictions
– NFL Expert Picks, AFC & NFC Championships

San Francisco vs Los Angeles Rams NFC Championship Game Preview

Why San Francisco Will Win the NFC Championship

Some teams just have another team’s number.

Tampa Bay has struggled lately with New Orleans. San Francisco couldn’t figure out Seattle this year. Houston gave Tennessee fits.

The Rams can’t push past San Francisco.

The first loss back in Week 10 wasn’t that much of an outlier. Los Angeles was coming off a beating by Tennessee and got rolled by Green Bay after a bye, but it was still a 31-10 loss with nothing going quite right.

There weren’t any issues in Week 18 with the Rams up 17-0 on the 49ers, and then the mistakes started coming, Jimmy Garoppolo settled in, and the defensive line bounced around Matthew Stafford like a pinball on the way to a 27-24 overtime win.

That’s what San Francisco is.

It’s not always pretty, but it manages to come up with big chunks of yards down the field with the passing game – it least the league in passing yards per attempt. It’s not always consistent, but the running game rolls for 100 yards a game without too much of a problem.

When everyone is healthy and right, the pass rush is relentless, the defense that’s third in the NFL finds ways to get off the field, and somehow it all comes together even without a superstar quarterback or a whole slew of A-list, nationally known playmakers.

As good and as talented as this Los Angeles team is, it has to be able to put this away early. It can’t let San Francisco hang around, it can’t allow the running game to get rolling, and it can’t let the – frightfully sorry for using this term – physicality of the tougher team on the other side take over.

Pressure? The 49ers seemed able to handle it just fine in the cold of Green Bay.

San Francisco was the fair weather team that was supposed to buckle in the snowy conditions, and instead it was Aaron Rodgers who played tentative and – despite the decent numbers – wasn’t up to the moment.

The Rams might have come up massive when they absolutely had to, but they did a slow burn over the final 20 minutes in Tampa Bay when they did everything possible to gag that away.

However …

– Why Los Angeles Will Win
– What’s Going To Happen, Prediction

NEXT: Why Los Angeles Rams Will Win the NFC Championship

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Cincinnati vs Kansas City Prediction, AFC Championship Game Preview

Cincinnati vs Kansas City prediction, game preview, how to watch: AFC Championship

Cincinnati vs Kansas City prediction, game preview, how to watch and lines for the AFC Championship, Sunday, January 30

Kansas City vs Cincinnati AFC Championship How To Watch

Date: Sunday, January 30
Game Time: 3:00 ET
Venue: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
How To Watch: CBS
Record: Cincinnati (10-7), Kansas City (12-5)
– Sign up and live stream sports on ESPN+
– Today’s Best Bet to Lock in Now

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– All of the CFN NFL Predictions
– NFL Expert Picks, AFC & NFC Championships

Cincinnati vs Kansas City AFC Championship Game Preview

Why Cincinnati Will Win the AFC Championship

Firepower.

Nah, Joe Burrow and JaMarr Chase aren’t going to light up the Chiefs like they did in their 34-31 win back in Week 17 – Burrow threw for almost 450 yards and Chase went off for 266 yards and three scores – but the offense has the ability to rip apart a beaten up Kansas City secondary.

The hope is for Tyann Mathieu to be back after suffering a concussion early on in the win over Buffalo, and there’s decent depth – at least brand name-wise – in the secondary, but the same crew that couldn’t handle Gabriel Davis now has to deal with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.

The Chiefs were able to erase Stefan Diggs, but Josh Allen was able to buy just enough time to get the ball to the other parts. The Bengal other parts are better.

Defensively, the secondary might be getting hit hard, but it’s forcing mistakes. Patrick Mahomes won’t make the same forced throws Ryan Tannehill did in Cincinnati’s win over the Titans, but the Bengal D has forced seven takeaways – three against Tennessee – in the last three games.

It didn’t come up with any against Kansas City the first time around and still managed to win.

Yeah, the Bengal defense has to at least pressure Mahomes and make him improvise a bit. Yeah, the run defense has been great over the second half of the season and Kansas City doesn’t have to worry that much about the running backs. But …

Again, this will come down to being able to keep up the pace. The Bengals can do that just fine, and in the playoffs so far, they’ve been able to win even when they’re not bombing away for a gajillion yards.

However …

– Why Kansas City Will Win
– What’s Going To Happen, Prediction

NEXT: Why Kansas City Will Win the AFC Championship

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Joe Burrow’s great play in rematches bodes well for AFC title game vs. Chiefs

Joe Burrow’s been amazing in rematches this year. He gets the Chiefs for the second time in the AFC title game.

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been superb in rematches this season.

That’s a pretty important talking point considering his Bengals head to the AFC title game against the Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday for a rematch of a Week 17, Cincinnati win.

In his second game against Baltimore this year, Burrow threw for 525 yards and four scores. In his second meeting with Pittsburgh, he threw for 190 and one score. And in his second meeting with Las Vegas — in the wild card round — he threw for 244 yards and two scores.

So, seven touchdowns, one interception and 959 yards across three rematches.

Now, full disclosure — all of those rematches went down in Cincinnati at home. And all three of the initial meetings were wins, too. But we’re talking about defenses that had a chance to review the first game, adapt and overcome Burrow. His skill and adaption — and that of those around him — produced wins in rematches, anyway.

So it bodes pretty well for the Bengals going into the rematch against the Chiefs, especially considering on January 2, he torched them for 446 yards and four touchdowns. Those Chiefs are also dealing with at least one notable injury to the secondary suffered last weekend.

This, of course, doesn’t guarantee the Bengals will be AFC champs and advance to the Super Bowl. But it’s another illustration of how betting against Burrow doesn’t get folks far.

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NFL Expert Picks, Predictions, Lines: AFC and NFC Championships

NFL expert picks, predictions, lines for the 2022 NFL Championship Sunday: AFC Championship Cincinnati vs Kansas City and NFC Championship San Francisco vs Los Angeles

NFL expert picks, predictions, lines for the NFL Playoffs Championship Sunday: AFC and NFC Championships

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* next to the pick means the team will win, but not cover.
Click on each game for the game preview and CFN Prediction

NFL Playoff Championship Expert Picks
Cincinnati at Kansas City | San Francisco at Los Angeles 

Results So Far | 2022 NFL First Round Mock Draft
2022 NFL Draft Underclassmen

Cincinnati at Kansas City

4:05, CBS
Line: Kansas City -7, o/u: 54.5

Jeff Feyerer, CFN: Kansas City
Pete Fiutak, CFN: Kansas City
Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com: Kansas City*
Phil Harrison, BuckeyesWire.com: Kansas City
Jeremy Mauss, MWwire.com: Kansas City*
Zac Neel, DucksWire.com: Kansas City*
Big Game Ben Niewoehner, CFN: Kansas City*  
Johnny Rosenstein, SportsBookWire.com: Kansas City*
Nick Shepkowski, FightingIrishWire.com: Kansas City 
Joe Vitale, UGAWire.com: Kansas City*
Clucko the Chicken, CFN: Cincinnati
CONSENSUS PICK Kansas City*

NFL Playoff Championship Expert Picks
San Francisco at Los Angeles | 
Results So Far
2022 NFL First Round Mock Draft
2022 NFL Draft Underclassmen

NEXT: NFC Championship: San Francisco at Los Angeles

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

Bengals and Chiefs dealing with early-week injuries before AFC title game

Some big names are going to be on the injury report before the Bengals vs. Chiefs AFC title game.

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The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs have some injury concerns early in the week ahead of the AFC championship game.

Those Bengals suffered more defensive line setbacks in the divisional round win over the Tennessee Titans.

Defensive tackle Josh Tupou only played five snaps due to his knee issue. End Cam Sample re-aggravated a groin injury after playing 19 snaps. And star Trey Hendrickson left late in the game, only to briefly return. This, after sending Larry Ogunjobi to IR before the game.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor didn’t sound too concerned about any of it after the win, but it’s worth monitoring over the course of the week.

And those Chiefs suffered some setbacks during a divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills. Star safety Tyrann Mathieu left with a concussion and will be in protocol this week. Corner Rashad Fenton entered the game as questionable.

As it’s only Monday, the outlook can very much change. But there are some notable names set to be on injury report ahead of this anticipated rematch that features a spot in the Super Bowl on the line.

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Bengals vs. Chiefs AFC title game gets Jim Nantz, Tony Romo on the call

CBS will have Tony Romo and other big names covering Bengals vs. Chiefs in the AFC title game.

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The Cincinnati Bengals will play the Kanas City Chiefs in the AFC championship next weekend in a game sure to be one of the highest-viewed affairs of the entire season.

Naturally, CBS has decided to pull out its big guns for the showdown.

CBS will put the pair of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo on the call for the Sunday, 3 p.m. ET kickoff in Kansas City.

Romo’s probably the name that will stick out most to Bengals fans. He’s taken the booth job by storm over the last few years and has had some really memorable calls during Bengals games, including commentary about Andy Dalton years ago.

Romo, of course, hit us with the “Chase is on the Case” classic during Cincinnati’s win over Kansas City at the start of January:

That was part of 266 yards and three touchdowns for Chase.

Bengals coaches and fans undoubtedly hope Romo has to make more calls like that next weekend with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

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Bengals open as big underdogs vs. Chiefs in AFC championship

The Bengals are big underdogs in the AFC title game.

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The Cincinnati Bengals now know where they have to go if they want to make it to Super Bowl LVI: the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. And the early lines are not too fond of the Bengals in this one.

Tipico Sportsbook has the Bengals as an early 7.5-point underdog for the AFC Championship. In a way, it’s understandable. It’s still a fairly inexperienced Bengals team (to an extent) against a Chiefs team that will be playing in their fourth consecutive AFC Championship Game, all at home.

The Bengals did beat the Chiefs in Week 17 to win the AFC North, but that was in Cincinnati. Now they have to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. But as the great Ric Flair always said, “to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” Cincinnati has a chance to beat the man on Sunday.

They’ve already won as a roughly 6-point underdog in Tennessee, knocking out the No. 1-seeded Titans. And the Bengals were able to rest on Sunday while the Chiefs just went through a 15-round heavyweight fight against the Buffalo Bills.

Joe Burrow and company are ready for the challenge. Burrow himself has already said he’s tired of the underdog talk. He’s absolutely ready to go into Kansas City and shock the world and send the Bengals to Los Angeles for Super Bowl LVI.

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