This game is usually played when the weather has turned cold and the trees have shed their leaves.
The Chiefs and Bengals have met five times since 2022, with all games coming in December or January, including both playoff games.
Sunday's matchup between the AFC rivals at Arrowhead Stadium won't carry the same weight as those playoff games, but it will be important for the 0-1 Bengals, who suffered a brutal upset loss to the Patriots in their season opener.
The Chiefs, who defeated the Ravens in the season opener, continue to fight as the favorite to win a third consecutive Super Bowl.
Certainly, the Bengals have more urgency given their humiliating loss to the Patriots, a team in complete transition with a rookie head coach and an interim journeyman quarterback.
Cincinnati is also eager to break an ugly trend of early-season struggles. The Bengals, under coach Zac Taylor and quarterback Joe Burrow, went 1-8 in Weeks 1 and 2.
Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase showed little intimidation this week against the back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
“We're the team to beat in the AFC and we know that, and we have to act and play like it,” Chase told reporters. “We couldn't have a better chance to get a win here. Our receivers could never play big, our quarterback could never play big, our whole offensive line could never play what they're made of.”
Taylor took a more formulaic approach when talking about the game that week.
“For us, it's still only Week 2,” Taylor told reporters, trying to downplay the importance of the game. “It's our next opponent and we're excited to turn the page and move forward. [Week 1] Once we get that taste out of our mouths, we're done and now we have a chance to move forward.”
The Bengals and Chiefs last met on New Year's Eve of last year, when Kansas City won 25-17 at home to clinch the AFC West title.
“There's a lot of knowledge about that, both for us and for them, because we feel like we've played them just as much as we've played a district rival,” Taylor said. “We've played them just as much as we've played any team in a non-district league.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes insisted the game was no less important just because it was played early in the season instead of later.
“These games are going to be important at the end of the year,” Mahomes told reporters this week. “Obviously, it's early in the season. Everybody's working on it. Everybody's trying to get better. But you know this could be a tiebreaker, whatever you want to call it, at the end of the year for who makes the playoffs.”
“So there's definitely an increased intensity, especially playing against other championship contenders.”
The Bengals defense will have to contend with yet another dangerous skill-position player in rookie receiver Xavier Worthy, who scored two touchdowns — one rushing and one receiving — on just four touches in his NFL debut last week.
Worthy, who was drafted 28th overall by the Chiefs, ran a 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, but Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt doesn't seem to be too convinced of the danger Worthy poses.
“Speed, that's it,” coach Taylor Britt told reporters when asked about the Kansas City rookie. “He can run in a straight line. He can do the jet sweep, he can just run in a straight line. He can't do much else, so that's it.”
“He's only about 100 pounds [165]”… If you put your hands on him, it'll stop him. So basically, put your hands on him.”
It wouldn't be a surprise to anyone if Mahomes targets Worthy early (perhaps with Taylor Britt on him) and crushes the Bengals with some points.
“clearly [Worthy’s debut] “He showed speed,” Mahomes said, “and the ability to run routes and find open space. It's early days for him. We'd like to see him get more involved in the offense, but it's a great start.”
Worthy ran for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball and then caught a touchdown pass later. With receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown missing another game and on injured reserve while recovering from a shoulder injury, Worthy could see more targets against Cincinnati.
“It was cool just to do what I did. [in Week 1]”But I have a 24-hour rule: I try it, I put it into practice, I forget about it and I move on. So I move on,” Worthy said this week.
