2023 AFC Championship Preview

By: Garret Kryzanowski

Almost a year ago the world was shocked as Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals upset Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game. Now almost a year later we are getting a rematch, same teams, same stadium and the same stakes.

The Kansas City Chiefs are always a Super Bowl favourite as long as they have PAtrick Mahomes at quarterback. This year was no different as once again the Chiefs not only won their division but also secured home field advantage through the playoffs with a 14-3 record during the regular season.

Last weekend in the Divisional round we saw the Chiefs hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team coming off a 27 comeback the previous week over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Jaguars felt like a team with all the momentum but playing in Arrowhead Stadium during the playoffs is no easy task and that was lesson they found out early. Patrick Mahomes came out quickly finding Travis Kelce for an early touchdown. The Chiefs were driving again before Mahomes had his ankle rolled up on by a Jaguars defender, causing panic and stress to consume all the Chiefs fan in attendance and at home. Mahomes was forced to exit the game bringing in backup quarterback Chad henne, who with a little luck was able to lead the Chiefs on a 98 yard touchdown to give Kansas City a 17-7 lead. After a Jaguars field goal the halftime score was 17-10 Chiefs. Mahomes was able to return in the second half and throw another touchdown pass as the Chiefs were able to hold on and win 27-20.

In the other Divisional game we saw the Buffalo Bills hosting Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game started out as well as it could for the Bengals as they quickly jumped out to a 14 point lead over the favoured Bills. The Bills would answer with a Josh Allen rushing touchdown in the second quarter but the Bengals controlled the rest of the game with ease, running for 172 yards and controlling the clock. The Bengals and Joe Burrow played the game the way they wanted and broke the Bills will in the process as they cruised to a 27-10 victory and booked a spot in the AFC Championship on Sunday.

The rematch is set, the defending AFC champion Bengals are coming into Arrowhead Stadium more confident than ever, while the Chiefs are looking to exact revenge and stop last year from repeating.

This game to me is a coin flip, both teams are confident and playing there best football right now. Both teams have elite quarterbacks leading them and both teams know each other well. Each team I believe has one deciding factor. For the Chiefs, how healthy is Patrick Mahomes? A high ankle sprain isn't a minor injury, it is brutal and it does affect your play. Patrick Mahomes is the face of the NFL because of all the crazy things he can do but with an ankle injury it does limit not only Mahomes but the Chiefs offence.

The question with the Bengals doesn't involve there star quarterback but there entire defence, can the Bengals defensive line pressure Mahomes enough to make up for the secondary busting coverage? Now I have tremendous respect for the Bengals defensive line, they are strong and seem to get better with every snap in a game. The secondary however, isn't nearly as strong and busted coverage is an issue that plagued the Bengals during the year and even in last years Super Bowl. When the defensive line is getting pressure those mistakes in the secondary don't happen, but they are facing a good Kansas City offensive line. Can the defensive line create enough issues for the Chiefs to make up for busted coverage? Yes, I think they can.

Both of these teams are the elite of the AFC and were in for a great game. Homefield won't be enough to overcome Patrick Mahomes ankle injury unfortunately as the Cincinnati Bengals will ben playing for the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. My prediction, Bengals win 31-23.