The Cincinnati Bengals‘ Week 17 game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be on New Year’s Eve with some important playoff implications for the Bengals.
This is the fourth time in franchise history the Bengals will have a game on the last day of the calendar year. Each of the previous three have been very memorable for the fans.
The first was in 1988 when they beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-13 which was in the divisional round of the playoffs. That year the Bengals would go on to the Super Bowl where they would lose to the San Francisco 49ers.
The next New Year’s Eve game wasn’t until 2006 when they matched up against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006, a game that would help them clinch a playoff spot if they were to win. They lost the game in overtime with Carson Palmer under center, but didn’t get a chance to win since Ben Roethlisberger threw a 67-yard touchdown to Santonio Holmes on the first drive after regulation.
The most recent game on New Year’s Eve was in 2017, when Andy Dalton threw a 49-yard touchdown to Tyler Boyd on fourth-and-12 to eliminate the Baltimore Ravens from playoff contention, winning the game 31-27.
With the Chiefs having some struggles recently and what Jake Browning has shown he is able to do when he plays well, it could be another great game on the last day of the year for the Bengals.
