Let's be honest. Cincinnati Bengals fans don't like either the Pittsburgh Steelers or Kansas City Chiefs. They're both rivals of the beloved Bengals, and under normal circumstances, Cincinnati fans would never actiely root for either team. But, these aren't normal circumstances.
In order to potentially qualify for postseason play, the Bengals need some serious outside help. In addition to winning both of their remaining games, the Bengals also need the Denver Broncos to lose their final two. Denver's final game of the season comes against Kansas City, so the Bengals will need Kansas City to win.
The Bengals need the Chiefs to have something to play for in Week 18
The problem is, if the Chiefs beat the Steelers on Christmas Day, then they won't have anything to play for in the final weekend of the regular season as they will have the top seed in the conference locked up. Without anything to play for, the Chiefs are likely to rest starters, which would make a victory easier for the Broncos, in theory.
The Bills are the only team who could potentially challenge Kansas City for that top seed in the AFC over the final two weeks of the season.
But, in order for that to happen, the Bills would need to win out and the Chiefs would need to lose out. At that point, the two teams would have the same record, and the Bills hold the tiebreaker as they bested the Chiefs in a game earlier this season. So, Bengals fans basically have to hope that the Chiefs will have something to play for in Week 18 against Denver, and Kansas City losing to Pittsburgh on Christmas Day would help to make that happen.
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Meanwhile. the Steelers will likely need to play their starters against Cincinnati in Week 18 regardless, as they'll still be battling with the Ravens for the AFC North crown.
Of course, all of these hypotheticals hinge on the Bengals besting the Broncos on Saturday. If they lose, it won't matter what happens in the game between the Chiefs and Broncos in Week 18, because the Bengals will already be eliminated from playoff contention.
But, if the Bengals are indeed able to beat the Broncos, then those Week 18 matchups between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh and Kansas City and Denver will become exceedingly important.
So, while it may be excruciatingly painful, Bengals fans need to put their hatred of the Steelers aside -- just this once -- and cheer for a Pittsburgh victory over Kansas City on Christmas Day.