It's the fourth meeting between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs in the last two full seasons and second straight meeting in the AFC title game; the stakes couldn't be higher with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
Cincinnati comes in with a host of momentum after winning by 17 in a snowy Buffalo while the Chiefs limp in -- literally -- with a banged up Patrick Mahomes. We have a full game preview for you here but this article is going to focus on my favorite, outside the box, set of prop bets for Joe Burrow.
First, here are the odds for the AFC championship game:
Bengals vs. Chiefs odds, spread and total
Bet Joe Burrow rushing props in AFC championship game
Burrow isn't known for his legs, but in the postseason teams are as protective with the ball as ever and quarterbacks use their legs more often. Just last week Burrow ran for 31 yards on six carries including a 21 yard rush against the Bills.
While he had just nine yards on five carries the week before, Burrow is not afraid to take off in the postseason and more importantly, against the Chiefs.
Earlier this season in a 27-24 win against Kansas City, Burrow had 11 carries for 46 yards, one off his season high. Last year in the AFC title game the 2020 No. 1 pick had five rushes for 25 yards. Yes, he did have only 10 rushing yards in the regular season game against the Chiefs last season, but did have five carries.
So, average those Chiefs games and Burrow has an average of seven rushes for 27 yards across an admittedly small sample of three games, but I do believe it shows the need to protect the ball against the Chiefs and Mahomes.
You can't expect to stop the Chiefs offense often, even against a banged up Mahomes, and it's clear that Burrow is aware of that and has opted to use his legs more often. I'm more than willing to go over this rushing yards number given the likely increase in carries.
But, that's not all.
Anytime touchdown scorer props
Let's take a stab at Burrow to get in the end zone with his legs. The Bengals signal caller has 22 red zone carries this season and already has a rushing touchdown in the postseason, a quarterback sneak against the Baltimore Ravens.
He isn't afraid to sneak for first downs or touchdowns and I'll take the long price in this market in a game where Burrow is going to want the ball in his hands.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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