2022 Week 13 Game Recap: Bengals 27, Chiefs 24 (by Ross Jacobs)
The Bengals jumped out to a quick 14-3 lead here, one of the few teams with the confidence and firepower to take it to the Chiefs, but the Chiefs quickly bowed up and threw a few punches of their own, cutting the Cincy lead to 14-10 at the half and then taking the lead away in the 3rd quarter. KC went up 17-14, Cincy tied it up at 17, and then KC took the lead again 24-17 going into the 4th quarter. Cincy cut it to 24-20 but then KC got the ball with a chance to extend their lead. They were driving easily again but the Cincy defense ripped the ball away from Kelce on a long catch and run and the Bengals capitalized with another TD to take the lead back. KC got the ball again with plenty of time and again started a drive only to get stymied at the end and then miss the tying field goal. The Chiefs might have gotten one more chance to tie or win the game, but on 3rd down, under heavy pressure, Burrow delivered an absolutely perfect pass to a completely covered Higgins for a 1st down and the ball game.
Last week I thought I watched one of the best games, between two of the best teams in the league during the Tennessee/Cincy game, but this one was even better. These two teams are just so good and so deep, so well coached...both are clearly Super Bowl contenders, both top 5 teams in the league. RC will likely argue that Cincy is the better team of the two because they have now beaten KC three times in a row, but I put very little stock in that. The skill level between the best teams is so close that these games typically come down to a little bit of luck, who got the right bounce of the ball, who got a good spot on a key 3rd down...etc. Cincy has gotten the breaks the past few times but all 3 games could easily have gone KC's way. To me KC is slightly, very slightly better, but we're talking razor thin margins...it's an “any given Sunday” thing trying to pick between them. It doesn't really matter, both of them can clearly win a championship and they look destined to face off in the playoffs yet again...if we're lucky.
The Bengals have now won 4 straight and 6 of their last 7. They started the season off a little shaky, mostly due to the offensive line, but that issue has gotten noticeably better in recent weeks. Burrow is not under nearly as much pressure now and he is just picking teams apart. A few weeks ago it looked like Baltimore would walk to an easy division title with a much easier overall schedule than Cincy, but I absolutely don't believe that will happen now, especially with Lamar injured...but I don't think it would even if they had him. Baltimore is a solid team but not in the same class as Cincy and the schedule that looked so daunting a few weeks ago no longer seems as threatening. Cincy will be favored in every game remaining except Buffalo and clearly every game is winnable. They should finish with 11-13 wins and the #1 overall seed isn't out of reach although it's more likely they end up #2 or #3.
We've known KC's fate for a while now. They are going to waltz to an easy title in a division we all grossly overrated this summer and very possibly the #1 seed in the AFC. They'll be a high seed and a likely representative in the AFC championship game, possibly the Super Bowl. It's the same team they've been every year since Mahomes took over.
Fantasy Player Notes:
– Ja'Marr Chase was back and healthy (somehow) and led the team in targets, catches, and yards. I thought he looked maybe not quite 100% yet which is a scary thought for the AFC but he's clearly ready to go. That guy is an animal to return from a major hip injury so quickly. He's a top 5 WR the rest of the schedule. Fire him up.
– Samaje Perine put up another RB1 week as expected and I would argue he's been as good, or even better, than Joe Mixon this year, definitely in fantasy but also in real life. Mixon should be back from his concussion this week though and he'll be put right back into the game as the main starter. I do think Perine has earned a little more playing time but it won't be enough for fantasy purposes.
– Hayden Hurst injured his calf and looks like he'll be out multiple weeks. There's no real fantasy replacement for him on the roster. If anything it's a tick up for Tyler Boyd out of the slot.
– Isiah Pacheco has absolutely seized the starting RB role in KC now...from undrafted free agent to RB1 on the depth chart in just 13 weeks is astounding. He took the first 3 plays of this game, two of them catches out of the backfield, before ceding a few touches to McKinnon later on. It's still a split role on the ground, approximately 60-40 for Pacheco and McKinnon gets a lot of goal line work because of his passing game chops, but Pacheco is definitely the lead runner now. Both guys got TDs this week but it's hard to count on that for fantasy. It's still a desperation play using either of them for fantasy but if one or the other gets hurt, the remaining guy is an easy RB1.
– Marquez Valdes Scantling led the team in targets and yards with a big play, but he almost had another 60-70 yards and a TD but couldn't bring down a tough deep catch in coverage and then flat out dropped a TD later on. I don't think this is the start of an upward trend for him, he just happened to get open deep a few times here. He's been a ghost all year, a complete waste of money.
– Kadarius Toney is back at practice this week. Who knows what his role will be but I imagine they'll be ginger with him until they need him in the playoffs. No need to rush him into a huge role when they just need to take care of business to lock down the division. Mecole Hardman is also eligible to come back next week against the Texans but there's no guarantees yet. Even when he does I don't know how you can count on him for fantasy. This team rotates their WRs so heavily now...the only thing you can have confidence in is Kelce.
IDP Notes:
– I've been starting Nick Bolton all year in my IDP league and he has rewarded me handsomely, one of the best tackle-heavy LBs in the game. He's only had under 8 tackles once all year and put up a career high 16 here.
Snap Counts of Interest:
67 = Higgins
62 = Boyd
59 = Chase
52 = Wilcox
60 = Perine
45 = Kelce
32 = Gray
42 = Juju
34 = Watson
31 = MVS
26 = McKinnon
25 = Pacheco
