After gaining a much-needed boost of confidence, the Cincinnati Bengals have a prime chance to lift their playoff hopes.

The Bengals would appear to have a favorable schedule over the next few weeks, beginning with Sunday's visit to the beleaguered Kansas City Chiefs .

Just when it seemed that it might continue its historic trend of inconsistency, Cincinnati pulled off a decisive 31-13 win over defending champion New York last Sunday. Andy Dalton threw a career-high four touchdowns while helping his team end a four-game losing streak, and the Bengals' defense forced four turnovers and sacked Eli Manning four times.

"That was huge for us," defensive tackle Domata Peko said. "We really needed that win. It was important because they're world champions and when you can compete against a team like that, it shows us we can compete against anybody."

Cincinnati has made back-to-back playoff appearances only once in franchise history (1981-82) and will get its chance to make a push toward achieving that goal over the ensuing weeks. The Bengals (4-5) will play their next five games against teams that are currently below .500.

Wide receiver A.J. Green, though, said Cincinnati is not taking this stretch lightly, and he pointed to a 34-24 loss at last-place Cleveland on Oct. 14 as evidence why the Bengals shouldn't.

"We can't look past anyone," Green told the team's official website. "This is the last part of the season and I feel like the game we had last Sunday gave us momentum. The best momentum to have is in the second half of the season."

Cincinnati would appear to have its chance for some momentum against the Chiefs (1-8), who have dropped six in a row. Kansas City has been outscored 157-78 during the losing streak, its longest in a single season since a seven-game slide Oct. 5-Nov. 23, 2008.

The Chiefs have produced 16 points or fewer in each of their last five games but nearly won in Pittsburgh on Monday night. Ryan Succop made a 46-yard field goal as time expired in regulation to tie it at 13-all, but Matt Cassel was intercepted on the second play in overtime, setting up the Steelers' game-winning kick.

"We're disappointed about the final result, but I really think our team played a much more competitive game overall than we have been playing," coach Romeo Crennel said. "We had some opportunities to win the game, but there are things we have to polish up and get correct so we can win the game."

With Brady Quinn not yet cleared to return from a concussion, the Chiefs will start Cassel again Sunday.

"Brady does feel better. I'm glad he's feeling better. But he hasn't been cleared to play yet," Crennel said. "I can't take the chance on practicing the guy and not having him ready."

Cassel missed one game earlier this season with a concussion of his own and had to fill in for Quinn when he exited a 26-16 loss to Oakland on Oct. 28.

Cassel has posted his lowest quarterback rating (66.6) in five seasons as a starter, and he has 12 interceptions to only six touchdowns in his eight games.

He was intercepted twice in his most recent matchup with Cincinnati on Dec. 27, 2009, and one of those sealed a 17-10 win for the Bengals. Kansas City's Jamaal Charles had 102 yards on 24 carries in that game and enters this one after reaching the 100-yard mark for the third time this season Monday.

Charles, who has 734 yards, gained 233 in the Chiefs' lone win Sept. 23 at New Orleans.

"He's a guy that has the ability to make people miss," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said.

The Bengals, who have won consecutive games in the series, are making their first trip to Kansas City since a 27-20 defeat Oct. 14, 2007.

Cincinnati, which has lost in six of its last eight visits, is hoping to have safety Reggie Nelson (hamstring) and rookie wide receiver Marvin Jones (knee) available for this matchup.

"Reggie and Marvin are getting pretty close," Lewis said. "They've worked extremely hard."

The Chiefs' receiving corps might be thin for this game. Jon Baldwin is getting tested for a concussion, and Dwayne Bowe - tops on the team with 49 receptions, 626 yards and three TDs - is also expected to be limited in practice this week due to an ailing thigh.

Dalton, Green lead Bengals past Chiefs, 28-6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Bengals punt team trotted onto the field midway through the first quarter Sunday, shortly after the Chiefs had kicked a field goal to take a rare lead in a game.

All the momentum was going Kansas City's way.

Then the snap landed in the hands of Cedric Peerman , who was lined up to protect punter Kevin Huber . The running back raced around the side of the line, the perfectly executed fake catching the Chiefs napping, and 32 yards later gave Cincinnati a first down.

New life, too. The Bengals would convert another fourth down on the same series, and Andy Dalton would hit A.J. Green with a short touchdown pass to cap it off, giving Cincinnati a lead it would never relinquish in a 28-6 victory on Sunday.

"It was a momentum-swinger," running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis said. "That's the thing about the NFL - most of the games are decided by a few points. When you get a momentum-swinger like that where you punch them right in the gut, it swings the momentum going your way."

Dalton wound up with 230 yards passing, including another TD throw to Mohamed Sanu , and also scampered for a score. Green had six catches for 91 yards, and Green-Ellis bullied his way for 101 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Bengals (5-5) won their second straight.

Cincinnati plays its next four games against teams that began the day with losing records.

None of them are as bad as the Chiefs, though.

Jamaal Charles had 87 yards rushing for Kansas City (1-9), but that was the only highlight for a team that lost its seventh straight amid a gloomy backdrop at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs' once-raucous home venue was only about half-full most of the game, and a good portion of those who showed up were dressed in black - a grass roots effort organized by fans who have been trying to pressure team ownership to clean out the front office.

"I focus on the game. I don't get into the crowd," Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel said.

Perhaps he should have let his eyes wander.

What happened on the field couldn't have put him in a good mood.

Dalton and Green shredded Crennel's porous pass defense, Ellis pounded away at a front line that had played better of late, and a middle-of-the-road Cincinnati defense looked like an iron curtain against a Kansas City offense that has been utterly inept.

The result: The Bengals are back to .500, and eying back-to-back postseason appearances for only the second time in franchise history, while the Chiefs have dropped seven straight games in a single season for the first time since Oct. 5-Nov. 23, 2008.

"We felt like we gave a couple of games away," said Dalton, who had four TD passes in last week's win over the Giants. "Now we've got momentum and we've got to keep it going. We've had two great wins, full-team wins, with everybody doing their part, and we've got to keep that going."

The Chiefs struck first for the second straight week, turning several nice runs by Charles into a 34-yard field goal by Ryan Succop , before reality set in again.

That's when the Bengals pulled off their faked punt, converted another fourth down and then saw Dalton cap the drive with a 5-yard fade pass to Green, who managed to stab the ball with one hand and then slap both feet into the end zone before falling out of bounds.

Peyton Hillis fumbled on the Chiefs' ensuing possession, their league-leading 31st turnover this season, but they dodged trouble when Mike Nugent missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt.

Cincinnati made it 14-3 later in the second quarter when Dalton fooled the entire Kansas City defense on a perfectly executed naked bootleg. The 1-yard TD run came on fourth down after a video review showed that Gresham had been stopped just shy of the goal line on a 10-yard catch.

The Bengals' most impressive drive of the game came after they forced the Chiefs to punt for the third straight time, an 11-play, 78-yard masterpiece in which they faced third down once.

Ellis capped that one off with a short touchdown plunge for a 21-3 lead.

Matt Cassel deftly led the Chiefs to a field goal in the closing seconds of the half, but Crennel elected to put backup Brady Quinn into the game at quarterback to start the third quarter.

Cassel sustained a concussion earlier this season, and then lost his job to Quinn, who was active for the first time since sustaining his own concussion Oct. 28 against Oakland.

Quinn didn't fare much better leading the Kansas City offense, and the Bengals tacked on Sanu's touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

"We did good things in all three phases," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "We knew it was going to be a grind. We can't worry about things around us. We just have to take care of us."

NOTES: Bengals CB Terence Newman left with a concussion. Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe (neck) and left tackle Branden Albert (back) also were hurt. ... The Bengals were 3 for 3 on fourth down. ... DT Geno Atkins forced two fumbles, had a sack and led Cincinnati with six tackles. ... Cassel and Quinn combined to go 17 of 30 for 188 yards.

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