KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (3-11)
AT
CINCINNATI BENGALS (9-5)

REGULAR SEASON GAME #15
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2009 – 12:00 PM (CENTRAL)
PAUL BROWN STADIUM – CINCINNATI, OHIO

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Chiefs Television Network - KCTV-5 (CBS in Kansas City) - Play-by-play: Gus Johnson - Color Commentator: Steve Tasker

Chiefs FOX Football Radio Network - KCFX-FM (101.1 FM in Kansas City - Affiliates) - Play-by-play: Mitch Holthus - Color Commentator: Len Dawson - Sideline Reporter: Kendall Gammon

Kansas City visits the Queen City in December for the second consecutive year as the Chiefs travel to Cincinnati on Sunday. As the American Football League celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2009, it is appropriate that the league’s initial franchise will face the 10th and final team to fl y the AFL banner, the Bengals. Lamar Hunt founded the league, anchored by his Dallas Texans franchise in ‘59, before moving his team to Kansas City in ‘63. Meanwhile, Paul Brown’s club began play in ‘68.

It’s been 25 years since the Chiefs last registered a victory in Cincinnati, a locale Kansas City has visited just three times since Jon Mackovic’s squad produced a 27-22 victory at Riverfront Stadium (9/9/84). Coach Todd Haley’s squad will be seeking the club’s fourth win of 2009. The Chiefs enter the game after suffering a 41-34 loss vs. Cleveland (12/20).

Coach Marvin Lewis’ squad is 9-5 and is in the midst of the AFC playoff picture. Cincinnati has already posted a perfect 6-0 record against its division foes and needs one more victory or a loss by Baltimore (8-6) to clinch the AFC North title. However, the Bengals have lost two in a row and are coming off a last-second 27-24 loss at San Diego (12/20). Cincinnati has suffered a threegame losing streak each of the past three seasons.

Cincinnati finished the 2008 campaign with three consecutive wins. The Chiefs would to establish their own victory streak in fi nal two games of the 2009 to carry some momentum into the off-season. RB Jamaal Charles has given the club an offensive jolt, scoring at least one TD in each of the last six games. Charles has posted back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances, including a career-high 154 yards vs. Cleveland (12/20). Meanwhile, QB Matt Cassel is also coming off his top performance of 2009 after registering a season-high 331 yards against the Browns. Defensively, KC has forced nine takeaways in its last three games and has allowed a combined 139 net passing yards in its last two contests, the club’s lowest passing total in consecutive games since ‘98.

Kansas City closes out the regular season at Denver (1/3), while Cincinnati finishes its regular season slate at the N.Y. Jets (1/3).

THE SERIES
Kansas City owns a slim 13-12 (.520) advantage in regular season play against the Bengals. The Bengals won last year’s meeting by a 16-6 margin at Cincinnati (12/28/08). Kansas City won a 27-20 decision in the last contest between the two squads at Arrowhead (10/14/07). The Bengals are 2-0 against Kansas City at Paul Brown Stadium, snapping a nine-game Chiefs victory streak to start the 2003 campaign by a 24-19 count (11/16/03).

Neither team has won back-to-back games in this series since the Chiefs claimed three straight wins from ‘83-86. The Chiefs and Bengals have split their last nine meetings. Kansas City’s most recent victory in Cincinnati was a 27-22 decision at Riverfront Stadium (9/9/84). The home team has won five of the last six meetings in this series.

The Chiefs initiated their all-time series against Cincinnati with a pair of contests in ‘68 when the Bengals entered the AFL as an expansion franchise. The Chiefs registered wins in four of the first five games in the series before Cincinnati proceeded to win five straight contests from ‘72-77. The two teams have never squared off in the postseason.

The Chiefs are 5-6 all-time in Cincinnati. Perhaps the most significant game in the Chiefs-Bengals series came in ‘69. With starting QB Len Dawson already hurt, back-up QB Jacky Lee was injured vs. the Bengals, pressing third-string QB Mike Livingston into service. Although Kansas City lost 24-19 at Cincinnati (9/28/69), Livingston rallied the club for wins in his next five starts during the Chiefs storied Super Bowl IV season.

Complete 16 page release (PDF)