Bengals vs. Chiefs: Top Fantasy Bets, Predictions for 2023 AFC Championship
Ja'Marr Chase and Travis Kelce have two of the best individual postseason track records over the last two years.
Chase is averaging 85.5 yards per game over his six postseason appearances. He enters the 2023 AFC Championship Game with a two-game playoff scoring streak.
Kelce comes into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday with seven consecutive 90-yard performances in the postseason.
The Kansas City tight end scored twice in the divisional round and holds a four-game scoring streak in the postseason.
Chase and Kelce will likely be the top two fantasy football and betting options outside of the quarterback position for Sunday's title clash.
Both players are so important to their respective offenses, and it would come as a surprise to no one if they led their teams in receiving yards and each made at least one trip to the end zone.
Ja'Marr Chase
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Cincinnati's top wide receiver has been a crucial part of Cincinnati's recent postseason success.
Ja'Marr Chase had nine catches for 84 yards in the wild-card round win against the Baltimore Ravens. He had five receptions on eight targets for 61 yards in the divisional-round triumph over the Buffalo Bills.
Chase found the end zone in both games, and he scored a touchdown in the 2022 AFC Championship Game win over Kansas City.
The LSU product's high stat lines pushed up his prop bet totals for Sunday. His props are set at over/under 6.5 receptions and 83.5 receiving yards. He is -105 (bet $105 to win $100) to score a touchdown at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Kansas City has not had an answer for the 2021 first-round pick in their two regular-season battles as well.
Chase produced his career high of 266 receiving yards in his first-ever clash with the Chiefs last season. He had 97 yards on seven receptions in Week 13 this season.
His overall production against Kansas City, and in the postseason, suggests he has a strong chance of hitting the over on both of his props and cashing the touchdown scorer wager.
The best bet on Chase is his receptions prop. Joe Burrow targeted him at least eight times in five of the duo's six NFL postseason games together.
Chase is Burrow's most-trusted target dating back to their LSU years. Chase had nine catches, 221 yards and two touchdowns in the 2020 National Championship Game victory over Clemson.
The 22-year-old is the best wide receiver on both rosters. Kansas City is still trying to figure out how to properly replace Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs had JuJu Smith-Schuster produce 939 receiving yards in the regular season, but he was rather anonymous with two catches in the divisional round.
Cincinnati's top pass-catcher will be biggest wide receiver target for daily fantasy football players across Sunday's two-game slate, and he should deliver for them regardless of the Bengals' result in Kansas City.
Prediction: 8 catches, 90 yards, TD
Travis Kelce
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Travis Kelce has been one of the best playoff performers of this generation.
The Kansas City tight end has 24 receptions in his last two playoff games. Some NFL players would love to have 24 playoff catches in their careers.
Kelce hauled in 14 of his 17 targets against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He had 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was a cash cow for bettors who took the over on his receptions and receiving yards props and his touchdown scorer odds.
DraftKings set Kelce's props at over/under 7.5 receptions and 78.5 receiving yards. He is -115 to score a touchdown.
Those all seem like reasonable numbers for Kelce to eclipse given how often he has been used inside the Kansas City offense.
Kelce's presence across the middle, and in the red zone, could carry more significance on Sunday if Patrick Mahomes is hampered by his ankle injury. Mahomes was taken off the injury report prior on Friday, but no one is sure how his ankle will be affected, if at all, after playing with a severe limp last week.
Kelce can be the quick-release option for Mahomes. He can gain extra yards by fending off tacklers with his physical nature across the middle. Kelce recorded 648 of his 1,338 receiving yards after the catch.
The reliable red-zone target should be Mahomes' preferred option in that area of the field. Kelce scored in four straight postseason games, and six of Kansas City's last seven playoff appearances.
Just like Chase, Kelce should be a must-bet option, and a must-start DFS play, because of how often his quarterback will attempt to get the ball to him.
Few teams have succeeded with stopping Kelce in the postseason, and until that happens, you should rely on him to produce big totals.
Prediction: 10 catches, 115 yards, TD
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