Last year, the New England Patriots were humiliated on Monday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs. After hearing every eulogy imaginable throughout the following week, the Patriots played the Cincinnati Bengals and won convincingly, pushing them toward a Super Bowl title.
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This year, the Chiefs were the ones embarrassed under the bright lights on Monday, getting pounded by the Green Bay Packers. Afterwards, head coach Andy Reid talked about moving onto Cincinnati, who just like last year, is 3-0 and looking good.
While Kansas City is not New England, it is a talented team with some calling it Super Bowl contenders in the preseason. The Chiefs have a tough assignment in Week 4, playing a Bengals team that has been lighting up scoreboards thus far.
The Bengals are 3-0 and mostly due to Andy Dalton looking like a new man. The fifth-year man out of TCU has thrown for eight touchdowns against only one interception, throwing deep to A.J. Green and Marvin Jones on the outside.
Without question, the best individual matchups will be on the perimeter with Green and Jones going against Sean Smith and rookie sensation, Marcus Peters. Smith is playing his first game of 2015 after being suspended for a guilty plea in his DUI case, while Peters has been a shutdown corner in his first three games with two interceptions and a touchdown.
These are two good teams who should be playing into January, despite Kansas City’s recent struggles. Although the Bengals are at home, the Chiefs have to be tired of hearing about how terrible they are and will stop the bleeding. This contest will be close throughout.
Pick: Kansas City 24, Cincinnati 20