On Sunday, January 30, the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs will face off in the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship Game. 

     For the first time since 1988, the city of Cincinnati will get to see their team compete in the AFC Championship Game. On the other hand, the Kansas City Chiefs are now the first team to host their conference championship four years consecutively. 

     These two met in the regular season where the Bengals pulled off a 34-31 win. Breakout rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase broke the record for receiving yards in a game by a rookie, totaling 266 yards. The two teams tallied almost 1,000 combined offensive yards that game. 

     This upcoming matchup will be an offensive battle between the two teams. The Bengals have had one of if not the most explosive offense this season. This past Saturday, the Tennessee Titans helped the Bengals identify their flaws heading into championship weekend. The Titans sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow 9 times, however, that didn’t stop the Bengals offense from setting up rookie kicker Evan Mcpherson to drill a 52-yard game-winning field goal. 

     The other AFC divisional round game may have been the most entertaining game this year. The Chiefs went toe to toe with the Buffalo Bills. In the final two minutes, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs scored twice. The game came down to overtime which the Chiefs scored first and won according to the controversial overtime rules. 

     The Chiefs come in with consistently one of the best offenses over the past 5 years led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, and center Creed Humphrey. The Bengals also have a very explosive offense which is led by quarterback Joe Burrow, running back Joe Mixen, and wide receivers Ja’maar Chase and Tee Higgins. Their defenses both are not top tier but they are very sophisticated and talented defenses. 

     We asked some students what their thoughts on the Bengal’s chance to win the AFC championship. 

     Sophomore Evan Johnson said, “Yes, they have the best wide receiver in the league and a really good offense besides their offensive line.”

     Sophomore Matteo Matteoli and Freshman Tyus Mccarter agreed with Evan. 

     On the contrary, Sophomores Cam Giesler and Ikey Palmer disagreed with them. 

     This game will come down to the final minutes if both teams play like they have all year.