The Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins threaten, in this week 13 of the 2022 NFL season, the dominance that the Kansas City Chiefs have shown in the American Conference.
The Bengalis, AFC monarchs, have won five of their six recent matches. They will receive the Chiefs on Sunday with the aim of tightening the fight for first place in the Conference.
Cincinnati has seven wins and four losses, so a win would put it just one game behind Kansas City, which is the best in the AFC with a 9-2 record.
It won’t be easy for the Bengals to stop coach Andy Reid’s team, which is looking for its sixth straight win under Patrick Mahomes, the league’s number one quarterback in yards currently has 3,585 and, in touchdown passes, has 29.
It will be a challenge for coach Zac Taylor’s team to stop the NFL’s deadliest offense Kansas City averages 29.6 points per game.
The vulnerable point in the Chiefs is in their defense, the 13th in the league, something that Joe Burrow, the third-best passer of the season with 3,160 yards and 23 touchdowns must capitalize on.
Among the good news for the Bengals is the recovery of Joe Mixon, their star in the ground attack, who missed last week’s game with a concussion, and Ja’Marr Chase, star receiver, who recovered from a hip injury.
If Cincinnati stops the Chiefs, the Miami Dolphins, 8-3, will have the way clear to storm the first place in the AFC if they triumph in their visit to the San Francisco 49’s this Sunday.
Miami is going for its fifth straight win, but will face the team that has progressed the most in the second half of the season in the National Conference in which the 49’s lead the West with 7-4 They arrive with a streak of four games won in a row.
It will be a clash between the third-best offense in the league, that of the Dolphins, against the number one defense that comes from whitewashing the New Orleans Saints 13-0 in Week 12.
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Sunday also highlights the game between the Philadelphia Eagles, the league’s top team with a 10-1 record and NFC East first, and the Tennessee Titans, leading the American South at 7-4.
Another duel that attracts attention is that of the Texans against the Browns, in which the presentation of quarterback Deshaun Watson with Cleveland is expected.
The NFL suspended Watson for 11 games this season over lawsuits he received from 24 women for sexual misconduct, litigation that the passer settled with confidential financial settlements last June.
Week 13 of the season will kick off today with the clash between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills. Monday will close the day with the visit of the Saints to the Buccaneers commanded by Tom Brady. The Cardinals and Panthers rest.
