The Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs must win Sunday

There are some teams in sports who always seem to win when the games matter most. A few examples would be the New England Patriots, Detroit Red Wings, San Antonio Spurs and St. Louis Cardinals. Regardless of injuries or personnel, those franchises churn out victories. Then there is the other side of that, teams which consistently lose despite having a better roster or playing at home.

In the NFL, nobody is a better example than the Cincinnati Bengals, who have struggled over the last 20 years to win important games. Despite making the postseason each of the past three seasons, Cincinnati has been defeated in the wild-card round each time, twice by the Houston Texans and last year by the San Diego Chargers. This year, the Bengals began 3-0 and became 8-3-1, but are still in serious danger of missing the playoffs.

Cincinnati had an opportunity to all but clinch a postseason berth last week at home before losing 42-21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ask any Bengals fan, and they will tell you that loss was going to happen. It is part of the franchise’s DNA. At 8-4-1, Cincinnati faces nothing short of a must-win against the Cleveland Browns. Should the Bengals lose, they would have to beat the Denver Broncos and Steelers to get to 10 wins, something that is not happening. On Sunday, the Bengals are a one-point underdog after the line swung by three points following Johnny Manziel’s appointment as the starting quarterback.

Let’s see if Cincinnati can finally win a game when it truly matters.

Another team with a loser’s mentality will be trying to avoid another disastrous defeat at Arrowhead Stadium. The Kansas City Chiefs were 7-3 and rolling along with five straight wins, only to drop the following three games to the Oakland Raiders, Broncos and Arizona Cardinals. Kansas City was Oakland’s first win in a calendar year and then laid an egg in Arizona two weeks later, turning the ball over twice and dropping three interceptions in a 17-14 loss.

The Chiefs have not won a playoff game since 1994. Last year, Kansas City took a 38-10 lead in the third quarter over the Indianapolis Colts before falling 45-44. Winning in big moments has been a massive problem for the Chiefs since Joe Montana left town. The franchise has lost eight consecutive playoff games, an NFL record. Kansas City still holds its own destiny, knowing its in the playoffs with three straight wins. The Chiefs must beat the Raiders this Sunday or it needs to be considered something is seriously amiss with this group. Kansas City is a 10.5-point favorite at home in a must-win situation.

For both Kansas City and Cincinnati, Week 15 provides us with pivotal moments. Can both win games against inferior teams, or do they choke in the limelight once more? While neither team winning would be a turning point, it would show some fight in franchises that have typically rolled over when the challenge proved great.