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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a home game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes issued a warning to his teammates ahead of the September 15 matchup.

“Obviously, they didn’t have the first week that they wanted to, so they’re going to even be more hungry to go out there and try to get a win,” Mahomes said of the Bengals to Audacy’s 96.5 The Fan on September 9. “It’s going to take our best football, and we know that.”

As they typically do early in the regular season, the Bengals struggled in their home loss to the New England Patriots in Week 1.

Without receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) in the lineup and Ja’Marr Chase playing in a game for the first time since last season, Cincinnati’s offense unsurprisingly looked rusty. QB Joe Burrow completed 21-of-29 pass attempts for 164 yards. Running back Zack Moss had nine rushing attempts for 44 yards and one touchdown. The unit had one turnover (Tanner Hudson fumble) and scored just 10 points.

Overall, Week 1 was a bad look for a Bengals team that is in their championship window. That’s why Mahomes and the Chiefs won’t be taking them lightly when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium in Week 2; Cincinnati will be motivated because of the Week 1 loss and because of how many problems Kansas City has given the Bengals in the past.

Chiefs Could Have Hollywood Brown Back vs. Bengals

One Chiefs player who was inactive for Week 1 and could be back for Week 2 is veteran receiver Hollywood Brown. Brown missed most of the preseason and the regular-season opener due to a sternoclavicular dislocation he suffered during KC’s preseason opener.

Speaking to the media on September 9, head coach Andy Reid did leave open the possibility of Brown returning for the matchup against the Bengals.

“He’s getting close. I know he’s feeling better,” Reid said of Brown on September 9. “We’ve just got to kind of see where it goes from here. They’ve been doing these periodic tests on him and making sure that he’s headed in the right direction — scans and all that. It looks like it’s heading in the right direction. Now, we just have to see where it goes from there.”

If Brown can return to the lineup in Week 2, his return bundled with the play of Xavier Worthy, Travis Kelce, and Isiah Pacheco could create an offensive explosion for the Chiefs against a Cincinnati squad that’s still trying to gain a foothold.

X Users Chat About Chiefs-Bengals Week 2 Matchup

Users on X — formerly Twitter — chatted about the upcoming Chiefs-Bengals game in Week 2.

“I picked Bengals +6 to cover against Chiefs,” one person wrote. “I might take the Bengals on the money line. I am a Chiefs fan. The Burrow vs Mahomes games are always close ball games.” 

“CHIEFS over Bengals. While I expect better effort from the Bengals this week the fact they were so poorly prepared in Week One is eye opening,” another person wrote.

“I’m preparing extra if I’m the chiefs. Teams are still bringing their best each week no matter how wide the gap looks each week,” another person wrote. “The Bengals experienced it last week and we know their players don’t like us. Foot on the gas.”