Are you ready for more playoff football, Chiefs Kingdom?
Just as we have over the past five seasons, the Chiefs Wire staff will offer its weekly predictions for each Kansas City Chiefs game. Below you’ll find all of our picks for Kansas City’s AFC title game matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2:00 p.m. CT at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

Charles Goldman’s pick:

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

The Chiefs have all the momentum heading into this game after their thrilling overtime win over the Bills in the divisional round. They’re also hot for revenge after a Week 17 stinker in Cincinnati, where the team flat-out didn’t play their best. Penalties were a monster problem in the Week 17 game against the Bengals and the Chiefs haven’t had more than five penalties in a single game since.

The great thing about this game is that the tables are turned and Kansas City gets to host the Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium. There has been plenty of talk about the crowd noise heading into the game, but I’m just looking at how the defense has performed in general when they play at home. They’ve allowed fewer points, fewer total yards and have better sack numbers this season while playing at home.

A big thing that no one seems to be bringing up in this game is the coaching experience. This is Zac Taylor’s third playoff game as a head coach.  Meanwhile, Andy Reid is appearing in his 34th career playoff game. It’s his ninth conference championship game too. That type of experience matters when it comes to the biggest stage.

Speaking of experience this will be the 11th playoff game that Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill have played together since 2018. That experience enabled them to accomplish something special in 13 seconds and the ensuing overtime period against Buffalo last week. I have a feeling that the chemistry they have built during big games will come into play again for this offense on Sunday.

Chiefs win 38-24

Wesley Roesch's pick:

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t like being the guy who blames the referees, blah, blah, blah…

The Chiefs lost to the Bengals in Week 16 because of the refs. Sorry. That’s the facts.

You could argue, like we always do, that the Chiefs shouldn’t have put themselves in a position to have the game come down to officiating. And maybe you’re right, but at some point, we have to recognize that some games are just straight-up decided by terrible refs who make egregiously-bad calls that decide the outcome of the game. And Chiefs-Bengals was one of those games.

I don’t see that being the case this week unless Bill Vinovich decides to go off the rails (unlikely — he threw the least amount of penalties in 2021). I also see the Chiefs putting up more points this time than they did in that game (31) — the K.C. offense is rolling and just dropped 42 on one of the top defenses in the NFL.

The Chiefs should also have a better defensive game plan for this one. I see them blitzing less and allowing their front four to pressure quarterback Joe Burrow, which may be enough — he was sacked nine times last week. This should allow K.C. to drop more defenders back and contain Ja’Marr Chase and others.

Ultimately, I think the Chiefs can win this one handily if they do everything right. But since this is the NFL, I’m sure it’ll be closer than expected, but I still see K.C. pulling away near the end.

Chiefs win 41-31

Ed Easton Jr.'s pick:

AP Photo/David Dermer

The Chiefs are hosting another AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. In their way of returning to a third straight Super Bowl are the Bengals, who handed Kansas City a late-game loss at Paul Brown Stadium a few weeks ago.

The scene shift to Arrowhead Stadium will help this time around as the raucous crowd will do their best to make sure Joe Burrow hears them. The Chiefs’ defense should have Tyrann Mathieu back in the lineup, and he will be a significant factor in the secondary. Chris Jones will apply the needed pressure throughout the game on Burrow redeeming himself for missing opportunities last week against Buffalo. Burrow won’t have the same success connecting with Ja’Marr Chase as in Week 17.

On the offensive side of the ball, the focus will be on the effectiveness of the Chiefs running game. Clyde Edwards-Helaire feeling healthier heading into the game is a much-needed plus to avoid over-relying on Patrick Mahomes. The trio of Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Kelce will take care of business with exceptional play.

Chiefs fans should start planning their trip to Los Angeles in two weeks for another championship battle.

Chiefs win 28-17

John Dillon's pick:

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

This game is for all the marbles and it is hard to shake the feeling that a matchup of this magnitude is exactly what the Kansas City Chiefs are built for. The Bengals will prove to be a formidable opponent as they were in Week 17 when they upset the Chiefs in a nail-biting finish, but with everything on the line, a pick against Kansas City just feels futile. Maybe it’s because I’ve picked the Chiefs in every matchup this season that I’ll continue my run of homer-ism but, to me, this feels like a sure thing against a team with far less experience in huge games.

Joe Burrow is a special quarterback, especially when paired with Ja’Marr Chase. That said, against a team with the playoff pedigree of Kansas City, Burrow is likely to see his outstanding sophomore season come to an end. Elimination football tends to bring out the best of what each team has to offer, and in the opinion of this writer, the Chiefs outclass the Bengals on almost every level when they’re firing on all cylinders.

Watch for Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to both give Cincinnati fits in the passing game, and for the defense to feel they have something extra to prove after nearly costing Kansas City their shot at another Super Bowl berth last week. If Tyrann Mathieu plays, as it appears he will, the Chiefs should have no problem containing the Bengals’ electric pass attack that gashed them at every opportunity earlier in the season.

I’ll call this in favor of Kansas City and expect it to be a game for the ages to pair with their stunning win over the Buffalo Bills last week to send the Chiefs to the big dance with a full head of steam.

Chiefs win 33-29