The AFC Championship Game is a repeat of last season's matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Even though the Chiefs are 1.5-point betting favorites, a lot of experts and fans are picking the Bengals to repeat as AFC champs and advance to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season. 

Included in that group is former New England Patriots wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman. He recently appeared on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast and made his prediction for Sunday's showdown in Kansas City. 

"I'm going with the Bengals. It has to do with the ankle of Patrick Mahomes," Edelman explained. "That's going to be a tough task. They're going to be thinking about that, the whole team is looking at how he is gonna perform. Yeah, Chad Henne came in and had the 98-yard drive, which was insane to see from your backup who's been in the league 15 years and runs the offense completely different. 

"But that Bengals team has a swagger, a confidence, they don't have excuses. Three linemen are out, let's just go to Buffalo and knock their heads in. Let's go score on the first two drives in a snowstorm. Let's be a tough football team. You have Burrow doing the (expletive) spin throw before the game."

Edelman added: "I'm taking the Bengals. I like (Joe) Mixon, I like (Samaje) Perine. They have insane wide receivers. I think it's going to be a really good game."

Mahomes' high ankle sprain that he suffered in last week's Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars is the top storyline entering the AFC Championship Game. A limited or even hobbled Mahomes makes the Chiefs offense so much easier to stop.

If the Bengals win Sunday, they will become just the second team this century to lose in the Super Bowl and get back there again the next season, joining the 2018 New England Patriots. Who won Super Bowl MVP for the Patriots that season? Edelman.