Kansas City at Cincinnati

Last week Simeon Rice guaranteed a Tampa Bay victory over Carolina and walked off the field a loser. This week Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson has guaranteed a win over the 9-0 Chiefs. Will it backfire against him? Not necessarily! Yes, I think Cinci has a chance to win this one. Cincinnati’s on a bit of a roll. They’ve won 3 of their last four games. Running back Rudi Johnson’s on a tear (Corey who?). Johnson recorded his second straight 100+ yard game last week with 182 yards on 43 carries against Houston. Meanwhile, Kansas City’s poor defense (ranked 25th in the league) is going to catch up with them at some point this season. The Bengals now believe in themselves and won’t fold just because an undefeated team is coming to town. In fact, I believe it will have an opposite effect on them as evidenced by Johnson’s defiant statement. Cincinnati views this as their chance to show the league they are no longer the Bungles. Home teams cover about two thirds of the time when facing an opponent off two big home wins. Kansas City will lose a game before the season’s over. Why not this week? They are coming off another blowout win, feeling great about themselves and their season. It’s hard to maintain top intensity week after week when you’re winning so easily.