Bengals-Chiefs: Five Factors Behind Cincinnati's Win Over Kansas City

The Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati-Bengals-Examiner%7Ey2009m12d26-BengalsChiefs-Cincinnati-looks-to-clinch-AFC-North-for-third-straight-week-against-Kansas-City">clinched their first AFC North title since 2005 and for the second time in 19 years in a 17-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in the final regular season game at Paul Brown Stadium. The win secures them at least one home in the postseason as either a No. 3 or No. 4 seed, depending on the results of next week's match-up between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans.

It's been a busy week for the Bengals after traveling to New Orleans five days prior to Sunday's game to pay their final respects to teammate Chris Henry—who passed away on December 17 after suffering severe head injuries sustained from falling out of the bed of a pickup truck. However, Cincinnati knew that despite the extra distractions, there was still a game to be played and an AFC North title on the line.

In the win, there were a number of key factors for the Bengals against a Chiefs’ squad suffering their fifth straight loss to drop to 3-12 on the season. Here is the first part of five factors regarding Cincinnati's 10th win of the season over Kansas City.

Bengals drive 98 yards on game-winning drive

With 9:21 remaining in the fourth quarter in a 10-10 game, Cincinnati was beginning the drive on their own two-yard line struggling against a Kansas City team who managed to make it a close game, despite being heavy underdogs. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer knew how important it was for his team to score then for not only the sake of the game, but for their chances at clinching the playoffs considering the Baltimore Ravens were in a close game with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Palmer slowly moved the Bengals down the field, helping make one big play after another before capping off the drive with a six-yard touchdown to wide receiver Chad Ochocinco with just over two minutes to play. Not only did Cincinnati regain a seven point lead, but they managed to waste over seven minutes off the clock as well.

On the following drive for the Chiefs, Bengals cornerback Leon Hall intercepted a deep pass intended for Chiefs wide receiver Chris Chambers to seal the win for Cincinnati. Once again, this team was able to come through late in the fourth quarter just as they had as the "Cardiac Cats" at the beginning of the season.

Cincinnati overcomes Kansas City after extra day of travel on Tuesday

Despite having the advantage over the Chiefs by playing at home, the Bengals still had one day of traveling to attend Henry's funeral down in New Orleans .

After traveling to San Diego the previous weekend, Cincinnati had two days to readjust to the time change before flying again Tuesday for the funeral. With all of the time adjustments in such a short span, many members of the Bengals were exhausted—especially since they still had a game to play against the Chiefs and were unable to have a day off during the week like they're used to.

All of the time adjustments seem to have played a factor in the outcome of Sunday's game against Kansas City considering how Cincinnati struggled throughout the game, even though they entered the contest as heavy favorites. At the end of the day, the only important factor is the outcome of the game.

It may have only been a seven-point victory over a four-win Kansas City team, but a win is a win.

Be sure to check back for the remaining three factors.

Dan Parzych is the Cincinnati Bengals Examiner for Examiner.com

He is also the founder of WhoDeyBengals.com

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