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Chiefs-Bengals Preview

Dec 24, 2009 - 12:48 AM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

The Cincinnati Bengals have wasted opportunities to clinch a playoff berth with losses each of the last two weeks to two of the best teams in the league.

Perhaps a game against one of the NFL's worst clubs can help them head to the postseason for the first time in four years.

Days removed from attending Chris Henry's funeral, the AFC North-leading Bengals once again try to secure a playoff berth Sunday when they host the lowly Kansas City Chiefs.

Cincinnati (9-5) needs to win one of its last two games - or have Baltimore lose one of its final two - to clinch its first playoff berth since winning the division in 2005. The Bengals faced this same scenario each of the last two weeks, but lost each time while the Ravens won both.

Neither of Cincinnati's last two games were easy.

After losing at NFC North-champion Minnesota 30-10 on Dec. 13, Cincinnati fell 27-24 in San Diego last Sunday when Nate Kaeding kicked a 52-yard field goal with 3 seconds to give the Chargers their fourth straight AFC West title.

That game was Cincinnati's first since Henry died from injuries Dec. 17 in North Carolina, a day after he fell out of the back of a pickup truck during what police described as a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

Police said Loleini Tonga was driving the truck and Henry was in the back. A witness said Henry yelled to his fiancee that he would jump from the truck if she didn't stop. Police also said Henry fell and sustained massive injuries.

"Everybody knows that we wanted to go out there and pull off a victory, do it for Chris," Bengals offensive lineman Bobbie Williams said.

The Bengals, who wore a decal with Henry's No. 15 on their helmets against the Chargers, flew to New Orleans on Tuesday for the funeral - marking the second this season they needed to attend one. Vikki Zimmer, the wife of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, died unexpectedly at the couple's home in October.

"It's really nice for the whole team to be able to go out there and say our last goodbyes to Chris and show our support to his family," said defensive tackle Domata Peko, who was a close friend. "It's sort of like our last goodbye, and we'll be able to move on."

Playing with heavy hearts, the Bengals now turn their attention to a very winnable game against Kansas City (3-11), which has given up 40 or more points in three of the last four games, and have been carved up for 796 rushing yards in their last three.

In last Sunday's 41-34 loss to Cleveland, Kansas City allowed little-known Jerome Harrison to run for 286 yards, the third-best one-game total in NFL history. The Chiefs allowed a franchise-worst 351 rushing yards as they lost for the 34th time in 39 games dating to 2007.

"It's a group effort," rookie coach Todd Haley said. "Doing things the right way. Our coaches getting the players to do it the right way and our players doing it the right way and doing that at a high enough level in a game situation to be effective."

This awful run defense now tries to slow down Cedric Benson, who is seventh in the league with 1,118 rushing yards.

Benson, who has ran for 416 yards and two touchdowns in his last three home games, has gone for at least 100 yards in each of his two career games against the Chiefs. He ran for 111 yards with a TD on 25 carries in Cincinnati's 16-6 win over Kansas City on Dec. 28.

Benson is joined in the backfield by Larry Johnson, who was released by Kansas City on Nov. 9 as he was set to return from a suspension for his latest off-field problems. Johnson, who isn't expected to get much playing time against his former team, posted a gay slur on his Twitter account, insulted followers and questioned Haley's competence as coach.

Asked if he has patched things up with Haley, Johnson tersely said: "No."

Since Johnson left the Chiefs, Jamaal Charles has taken advantage of the job opening.

Charles, who has rushed for 607 yards while scoring in each of the last six games, ran for a career-high 154 yards against the Browns. He'll likely have a tough time finding room to run against a Cincinnati team that is third against the rush, allowing an average of 85.2 yards.