The biggest question this week for the Bengals is this: How will they respond?

The team just came home yesterday after almost the entire organization paid their respects at Chris Henry’s funeral in Louisiana. So, while they have the untimely death of their teammate on their minds, they have to regroup and try to win the next game against the Kansas City Chiefs to guarantee a berth in the playoffs and a home playoff game.

Most people are predicting that the Bengals will win against the Chiefs. And why not? Last game the Chiefs gave up 350 yards rushing to the Browns, 286 of those was to Jerome Harrison. Do you think that Cedric Benson and (especially) Larry Johnson aren’t salivating to pound the rock against them? Cedric will most definitely start the game, but I will be surprised if LJ doesn’t get at least 10-15 carries against his former team.

Even though the Bengals having a good rushing attack and the Chiefs having the #31 rush defense, I hope to all things holy that we don’t ignore the passing game. I’m glad they came out and aired it out against the Chargers, but they will need to continue to do that, even against the Chiefs. I absolutely hate whenever a Bengal says, “We’re a running team now.” I understand that a rushing attack helps control the clock and is a safer offensive philosophy than flinging the ball all over the place. Still, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the most effective offense is a BALANCED offense. If you look at the current playoff teams, the Bengals have the best rushing attack, but the worst passing attack. The Colts, Chargers, and Patriots all have great passing attacks, but suspect running attacks. I wish the Bengals would see that they could have the most balanced teams in the AFC playoffs.

Anyway, the question still remains about how the Bengals will respond in a game that is pretty much a must win. If the Bengals lose and the Ravens win, the Bengals will have to win against a Jets team that has the number one pass defense. I don’t think my heart can take that situation. I might just black out.

Under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals have a history of choking in games with playoff implications. To wit:

- 2003: the Bengals lose the last two games to miss the playoffs.
- 2005: After clinching a playoff berth, the Bengals lose the next three games, including the playoff game against the Steelers
- 2006: The Bengals lose the last three games of the season, when all they had to do was win just one to make the playoffs. This losing streak included a missed extra point to send a game to overtime against the Broncos and a missed field goal to win it against the Steelers.

Bengals fans have gone through this heartbreak before. But no one on this Bengals team has experienced a season quite like this. They’ve gone through a lot, haven’t they? Here’s a short recap of the tumultuous season:
- Fluke catch by Brandon Stokley causes Bengals to lose the opening game against the Broncos.
- Fluke onside kick catch by the Packers almost causes a second loss.
- Bengals convert two fourth down conversions in the last minute on their way to their first win against Ben Roethlisburger in Ohio.
- Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s wife dies unexpectedly
- Fluke fumble by Andre Caldwell against the Raiders causes the Bengals to lose.
- Bengals lose best defensive play Antwan Odom for the season
- Bengals lose starting safety Roy Williams for the season
- And, of course, Chris Henry’s passing away, and that was after he had broken his arm and was lost for the season.
- Losing to the Chargers after the death of Chris Henry on a last second field goal.

And now they just returned from a funeral and have Christmas coming up. Can the team refocus and beat a team they should beat? I think they will. I think all this stuff that they’ve gone through has made them a stronger team and will only help them with a deep playoff run. Still, as any Bengals fan will tell ya, there is a lot of nervousness going into this game. Hopefully the team will come out strong and put the game away early. I don’t want to go through a nail-biter.