It is common for teams to struggle with late season injuries and the Cincinnati Bengals are no different than most in that regard.  Cincinnati has been hammered by a plethora of injuries late in the season but arguably none have been more devastating than that of star wide receiver JaMarr Chase.  With the Pro Bowl wideout, Cincinnati won three straight and clawed their way back into playoff position.  Without him, the team was decimated by a weakened Pittsburgh Steelers team in Week 16.

Bengals Elite Receiver to Return from Injury in Week 16

Luckily for Cincinnati, the superstar receiver is listed as questionable for the Week 17 matchup against their conference rival Kansas City Chiefs.  Chase missed last week with a separated shoulder against Pitsburgh and it was clear that the passing offense simply wasn’t the same without him as backup quarterback Jake Browning threw a critical series of interceptions that put the game out of reach for Cincinnati.

The game is critical for both teams as a win takes Cincinnati’s possibility of making the playoffs to 56% while a loss drops the team to 6%.  Granted it is hard to draw up exact statistics on possibilities with so many variables, it is clear that a loss will essentially wipe out any postseason hopes in Cincinnati.

Kansas City is certainly in better position than Cincinnati with a firm hold over the pathetic AFC West, the team has lost three out of four and has seen their dreams of winning consecutive super bowls completely vanish.  The team will look to get back in control of their destiny and officially lock up the division with a win over their conference rival in the second to last game of the 2023 season.

While dramatically finishing above expectations after the devastating injury of star quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincinnati continues a desperate fight for a playoff spot after losing another critical defender last week with a season ending injury to defensive tackle D.J. Reader.  

From a fan’s perspective, Cincinnati needs to get this win to keep morale high in the Queen City after the team appears to have regressed as a whole following the massive contract of Burrow.  On top of the Burrow contract, it is heavily speculated that Chase will be demanding a massive extension in the offseason and further limit the financial flexibility of the team’s capital.  Retaining talent after the contract will not be as possible and many analysts around the league view Cincinnati as having a rapidly closing window to win a Super Bowl.