Win or lose, Sunday’s Chiefs game will be a milestone for coach Andy Reid.
Reid will coach in his 400th career game (regular season and postseason) when the Chiefs take on the Bengals in Cincinnati. Only four other coaches have reached that total: Don Shula (526), George Halas (506), Bill Belichick (474) and Tom Landry (454).
If the Chiefs beat the Bengals, it will be Reid’s 250th victory (including the playoffs). Reid’s career record against Cincinnati is 2-3-1.
Will Reid get career win No. 250? Here is what 53 pundits are saying about the game, which kicks off at noon and will be broadcast on KCTV (Ch. 5).
A 31-24 victory is the call from Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. Here is a passage from his story: “Joe Burrow and this Cincinnati offense could keep up with Kansas City if all things were equal, but they aren’t. The Chiefs’ defense, especially in the secondary, is much tougher than the Bengals’ D to consistently move the ball against.”
A 34-30 Chiefs win is the prediction from Yardbarker’s Chris Mueller. Here is an excerpt from his story: “Patrick Mahomes diced up a desperate Pittsburgh team last week, but the Bengals are a much bigger challenge. Cincinnati might have the most impressive collection of skill talent in the AFC, and Joe Burrow is coming off a historic performance in the Bengals’ demolition of Baltimore. A win in this game would clinch the AFC North for Cincy for the first time since 2015. More than that, though, it would put the rest of the AFC on notice.”
The Chiefs will win 30-20 says BJ Ruddell of Pro Football Network.This is part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs have gotten tougher against opposing quarterbacks these past four weeks, giving up an average of only 13.8 fantasy points per game. The way to beat them is on the ground, where they’re yielding 4.7 yards per carry. I expect the Bengals to try to work the clock through Joe Mixon and a bit of Samaje Perine. Before last week, Burrow had only 6 TDs in his previous six games. So let’s temper our excitement.”
A 31-24 Chiefs victory is the prediction from Bill Bender of the Sporting News. Here is a snippet of his story: “Who knew this would be the best game of the week? The Bengals can clinch the AFC North with some help this week, but they need a home victory against the Chiefs. Kansas City has regained its Super Bowl form with eight straight victories, and they covered in the last six games.”
Five of seven writers for CBS Sports see the Chiefs prevailing: Pete Prisco, Jason LaCanfora, Jared Dubin, Ryan Wilson and Jamey Eisenberg. Picking Cincinnati: Will Brinson and John Breech. Prisco predicted a 33-31 final and wrote in part: “The Bengals are riding high after blowing out the Ravens last week, while the Chiefs are the top seed in the AFC. This has all the makings of an offensive shootout, with Joe Burrow trying to match Patrick Mahomes. It will be a treat to watch.”
The Chiefs will win, the two ProFootballTalk writers wrote. Michael David Smith predicted a 33-21 final and wrote: “After a rough start to the season, the Chiefs look like the best team in the league right now.” Mike Florio sees a 31-24 final. He wrote: “It took a while, but the Chiefs have rediscovered their magic — just in time to make some real noise in the postseason.”
Each of the eight Athletic writers believe the Chiefs will win: Nick Kosmider, Tashan Reed, Michael-Shawn Dugar, Mark Kaboly, Ben Standig, Jay Morrison, Chris Burke and Katherine Terrell. This is part of the Athletic’s story: “This week, the Chiefs can clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a win and a Tennessee loss. Kansas City has also covered its spread six weeks in a row and opened as 4.5-point favorites over the Bengals.”
Six of 11 pundits at ESPN went with the Bengals: Mike Clay, Jeremy Fowler, Dan Graziano, Rob Ninkovich, Seth Wickersham and Damien Woody. Picking the Chiefs are Emmanuel Acho, Matt Bowen, Domonique Foxworth, Laura Rutledge and Kevin Seifert.
Four of the seven writers at USA Today picked the Chiefs: Jarrett Bell (34-27 final score), Mike Freeman (24-13), Mike Jones (35-28) and Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (38-21). Going with Cincinnati are Nate Davis (25-23), Jori Epstein (28-27) and Lorenzo Reyes (31-28).
A Chiefs victory is the prediction from three of the four Athlon Sports writers: Bryan Fischer, Ben Weinrib and Aaron Wilson. Picking Cincinnati is Rob Doster.
Four of five staff writers at Sports Illustrated writers picked the Chiefs: Albert Breer, Gary Grammling, Jenny Vrenta and Mitch Goldich. The pick for the Bengals came from Conor Orr.
A Chiefs win is the prediction from four of five Audacy writers: Jordan Cohn, John Healy, Jesse Pantuosco and Dan Mennella. The pick for Cincinnati came from Tim Kelly.