Here is who national experts predict will win KC Chiefs-Cincinnati Bengals game

Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase was upgraded from “did not practice” on Wednesday to “limited participant” on Thursday as he recovers from a shoulder injury.

After Thursday’s practice, Chase was a full participant in media interviews, and he made a point of saying he was unimpressed with the Chiefs defense. He was asked what stands out about KC’s secondary.

“I’ll be honest, nothing,” Chase said in a video from X user Mike Petraglia. “They just know how to play us. They know the leverages. ... They know what we’re going to do, certain movements. They throw a little double-doubles at us to stop the two best players on the outside and that’s all they do. It’s not really like they got a Jalen Ramsey on their squad, you know what I’m saying? So, not much (stands out).”

Chase added: “They can take it how they wanna. I don’t care. At the end of the day, there’s only so much I can do myself. It’s not like I’m Ironman. I can’t throw the football to myself. It’s a team sport. I know what I see on paper. I know what I see in a game. That’s why they double everybody, because they can’t do it one-on-one. The best player on their team is (L’Jarius) Sneed and that’s a fact. Everybody knows that. That’s why they double-double everything they see.”

Chase may not play in Sunday’s game, and Sneed’s status is in doubt, too. But if both play, it could be a fun matchup.

Here are who 69 national experts are predicting will win the New Year’s Eve game, which kicks off at 3:25 and airs on KCTV (Ch. 5) in Kansas City.

Seven of eight writers at CBS Sports believe the Chiefs will win: Pete Prisco, Jared Dubin, Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson, Jamey Eisenberg, Tyler Sullivan and Dave Richard. The pick for Cincinnati: John Breech. Prisco predicts a 26-23 final. This is part of what he wrote: “The Bengals are still alive, but barely. The Cincinnati defense had issues with Mason Rudolph at times last week, so maybe this will be a game to get Patrick Mahomes going.”

A 34-14 Chiefs victory is the prediction from the Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer. Here is a snippet from his story: “Jake Browning was curbed in Pittsburgh and Kansas City offers a much tougher challenge on the road. Meanwhile, Mahomes and Travis Kelce get that long-awaited get-well game together as a key playoff tuneup.”

A 27-17 Chiefs win is the prediction from the Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi. This is an excerpt from his story: “These aren’t the same Chiefs (9-6) who won the Super Bowl last season. Patrick Mahomes and Co. are struggling but are still one win away from clinching their eighth straight AFC West title.”

Picking the Chiefs are all eight USA Today writers: Jarrett Bell (27-23 final score), Chris Bumbaca (30-20), Safid Deen (22-17), Tyler Dragon (24-20), Victoria Hernandez (26-20), Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (20-15), Lorenzo Reyes (21-16) and Nate Davis (20-17). Here is what Deen wrote: “The Chiefs are limping toward the playoffs, and need a win badly after losing two of their last three games. It’s hard to not give them the benefit when there’s nothing but doubt surrounding them offensively. Patrick Mahomes does just enough to help the Chiefs squeak by the Bengals.”

Each of the five writers at NFL.com picked the Chiefs to win: Ali Bhanpuri (23-17 final score), Brooke Cersosimo (26-21), Dan Parr (27-19), Gennaro Filice (31-16) and Tom Blair (26-17). Here is an excerpt of what Blair wrote: “OK, so the Chiefs looked very human against the Raiders in Week 16. What am I supposed to do, pick Patrick Mahomes to lose a second consecutive game in Arrowhead to a team starting a backup quarterback? I’m not there yet, not when Las Vegas needed a couple of fluky defensive scores and more rushing yards (157) than Cincinnati has managed in any game this season to upset KC”

Nine of the 10 experts at ESPN see the Chiefs winning: Stephania Bell, Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Jeremy Fowler, Jason Reid, Kimberly Martin, Moses Moody, Lindsey Thiry and Seth Wickersham. Going with the Bengals is Dan Graziano.

All seven experts at Sports Illustrated are predicting a Chiefs victory: Albert Breer, Conor Orr, Mitch Goldich, Gilberto Manzano, Matt Verderame, John Pluym and Claire Kuwana.

The 12 writers at the Athletic picked the Chiefs: Mark Kaboly, Austin Mock, Larry Holder, Zack Rosenblatt, Zak Keefer, Zac Jackson, Tashan Reed, Chad Graff, Josh Kendall, Ben Standig, Michael-Shawn Dugar and Nick Kosmider.

The eight SB Nation writers think the Chiefs will prevail: James Dator, Debbie Emery, Jeanna Kelly, Brandon Lee Bowton, Jared Mueller, RJ Ochoa, Matt Warren and Michael Peterson.

The Chiefs are the choice for Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio and Chris Simms (both picked a 24-16 final score).

Picking the Chiefs are all seven writers at A to Z Sports: Destin Adams, Charles Goldman, Brandon Little, Mike Payton, Mauricio Rodriguez, John Sheeran and Evan Winter.