Chiefs vs. Bengals Inactives: Who's In, Who's Out?

The Chiefs and Bengals have released their inactives ahead of Sunday's AFC Championship matchup.

On Sunday afternoon, the Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in what's shaping up to be a thrilling AFC Championship Game. These two teams met less than a month ago and in that Week 17 matchup, Cincinnati narrowly came out on top. This time around, the Chiefs are back at home and will be looking for revenge en route to their third straight trip to the Super Bowl. The stakes don't get much higher than this.

Ahead of this AFC Championship Game matchup, the Chiefs' list of inactive players has been released:

Here are the Chiefs’ inactives for today’s game against Cincinnati:

QB Shane Buechele
CB DeAndre Baker
RB Derrick Gore
DE Joshua Kaindoh
OT Prince Tega Wanogho
DT Khalen Saunders

— Matt McMullen (@KCChiefs_Matt) January 30, 2022

Playoff football is all about peaking at the right time and on the health front, the Chiefs are good to go. Not only is Tyrann Mathieu returning after being knocked out of last week's Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills with a concussion, but cornerback Rashad Fenton has rehabbed from his back injury as well. Mathieu cleared protocol on Sunday and was given the green light to play, and Fenton is also active. Those are two major boosts to a Chiefs secondary that will have its hands full trying to stop the Bengals' many talented playmakers.

In other injury-related Chiefs news, running back Darrel Williams is playing through his toe injury this week. He tried to do so two weeks ago in the Wild-Card round against the Steelers, but he recorded just one carry for two yards. After sitting out for a week, he's back and ready to help a Kansas City backfield that suddenly has experienced a good deal of success in recent weeks. Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders was activated from the injured reserve list this week, but he will not suit up for the Chiefs on Sunday.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) is forced out of bounds in the red zone by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward (35) as Kansas City Chiefs free safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) helps in the second half of the NFL game on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. Cincinnati Bengals defeated Kansas City Chiefs 34-31. © Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Bengals' inactives have also been released:

#Bengals inactives vs #Chiefs:

DE Cam Sample
DT Josh Tupou
CB Vernon Hargreaves
WR Stanley Morgan
WR Trenton Irwin
HB Trayveon Williams
OL Fred Johnson

— Marisa Contipelli (@BengalsMarisa) January 30, 2022

For the Bengals, they had a pair of players listed as doubtful and one listed as questionable heading into Sunday. Defensive end Cameron Sample has been battling a groin injury and didn't participate in practice throughout the week, so he will miss the AFC Championship Game. Wide receiver Stanley Morgan, who's dealing with a hamstring issue, was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He missed practice on Friday and will miss Sunday's game. Defensive tackle Josh Tupou, another inactive who appeared on the Bengals' injury report, was limited all week with a knee injury.