Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - The Bengals have a chance to make us believers with a complete game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8
Episode Date: October 24, 2024This is the "make us believe" game for the Cincinnati Bengals. They've won 3 of 4 against some bad teams, and have 3 narrow losses to teams at the top of the standings. Beating the Philadelphia Eagles... the way they took care of the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 would go a long way in making us believe the team is back where preseason expectations had them. The guys break down how that could happen in a game that is more likely to go down to the wire.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsFor your next listen, check out the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Get daily insight to the best Fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Pre-Alcohol by ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFLto learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelPlace your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Are we back to saying just score 40?
I might be.
Let's preview Eagles Bengals Week 8.
You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast.
Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Locked on Bengals podcast.
I'm your host, Jake Liscoe.
He's your host, James Rapine.
Today we will preview for you, the Cincinnati Bengals Week 8 whiteout against the Philadelphia Eagles at Paycourse Stadium.
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Today, James, we dive into a preview of another must-win game for the Cincinnati Bengals.
And as I said at the top of the show, we've joked about just scoring 40 a few times this year.
And while this game isn't exactly like that, the more I think about it, the more I kind of get back to.
Let's see this offense bounce back and show that form they were in when they were scoring 30 plus every week against a team that is a little bit more of a challenge than they've seen for a few weeks.
Yeah, I've thought about this all week because I think, and we're going to get to it certainly,
and we did some in the crossover yesterday, but Sequin, Jalen Hertz, A.J. Brown, everyone's focused
on, all right, how do you slow them down? And part of it is simple. You need this offense to be
what we saw in weeks three through five when they were really humming and get back to that.
Now, that doesn't mean that they're going to drop 38 on the Eagles. It would be nice.
It would be nice if they got to your 40 point mark.
But having playing at that level in this big time moment, it really does feel like I was talking to a veteran in the locker room earlier this week.
He's like, you know, it kind of feels like the San Francisco, like going into that San Francisco week, where we knew lap from last year, where they go out and they beat the 49ers.
Now that's on the road, but NFC opponent, good opponent, a lot.
of talent. And I think we know, like, all right, well, this is kind of a measuring stick is cliche,
but a chance for the Bengals to get a good win, right? Every win is good, but a win over a quality
opponent that isn't the Browns who, yeah, they're a bad matchup for the Bengals, but the Browns
stink. I was texting someone that works in Cleveland earlier today. And he said, oh, yeah,
we, meaning the Browns suck was his term. Browns fan saying that.
So that's, you look at that and it's a nice win because it's a division win,
but you don't feel great about it, the one in six Browns whose head coach just gave up
playing duties.
And the Eagles certainly have their flaws.
They're not perfect.
But if they win on Sunday, the phrase I'm not going to say, there's probably not many
scenarios where we're saying, oh, well, a win is a win.
Like we have the past two weeks, because it's a win over the Eagles.
And even if it is ugly for whatever reason, ugly on defense at times,
are ugly on offense early.
If they come out with a win against the Eagles,
it's hard for me to envision a scenario
where I would be saying that phrase,
a win is a win.
I think I would be more pleased with their performance.
Yeah, it's hard to imagine that that scenario as well.
I agree.
It would be their best win of the season by a mile.
Their strength of victory this year sits at 0.19.
That's a winning percentage of the opponents they've beaten.
the opponents they've beaten this year is 19%
they're running 19% of their games
it's the second lowest I think
strength of victory in the NFL
the only team that has a lower strength of victory
is New York Jets with their two wins
so yeah I mean there's no way
we're coming out of this game feeling
if they win like we felt
the last couple of games where they played
a couple of the worst teams in the NFL which by the way
are the same teams fairly played in case
you missed a crossover in their last two games
so that's an interesting little coincidence
So Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals are playing the exact same schedule for three weeks in a different order, which is a fun little scheduling note.
But it is a big game in multiple ways for the Bengals, getting back to 500, showing that they can beat a quality opponent.
Where we talked about it earlier this week, James, it's easy to be of two minds on this team.
You listen to national media, and I did.
I listened to several national media members talking about this game or talking about
the Bengals right before we started recording this show.
And several kind of insinuated or set out right, the Bengals are a better team than
their record.
They had a very close loss to Kansas City on a last second pass interference call, Kansas
City, 6 and 0.
They had a very close loss to Baltimore.
They, you know, Joe Burrow with the interception, the missed field goal, the mishandled
snap, whatever you want to point to there.
You can point to a close game with the Washington.
commanders who are currently the two-seat in the NFC if the year were to end today.
And that's with a backup quarterback still putting up crazy numbers on offense.
So you can point to all those things and say, yeah, the Bengals almost beat all these teams that
are good, but they almost beat them.
And then the teams they did beat are bad.
And so it's not so easy to say they're better than their record.
But if they were to win this game, we would start to feel like that trajectory is there.
And we have pointed out the parallels to last year's game around this time, or actually
the same week against the San Francisco 49ers.
And if they play their game against the Eagles like they did against the 49ers,
I do think that last year's 49ers that they played probably better than this year's Eagles.
But it would give you a similar feeling.
And we haven't seen that complete game.
Really?
Not entirely.
Like you sort of got there against the Panthers.
That's probably the closest they've been this year.
If you got that against the Eagles this week,
the way they did last year against the 49ers in the same week,
then we definitely wouldn't be saying a win as a win after this game.
This is a make us believe game.
Yeah.
Make us believers.
Like, seriously.
Like,
that's the phrase.
That can be the sign guy at Paycor.
And I forget his name.
I think he is a listener.
So normally it's a little more fan-based, which it should be.
We're cheering on the team.
But it's the make us believe game.
Because if they go out there and they play at a high level and they handle business against
the Eagles,
when the Raiders are a week away,
and then the Ravens are four days away from that,
you're like, all right, well,
they could be five and four going into that Ravens game,
and it's a showdown, prime time, Thursday night.
Like, you love it, right?
You love putting yourself into that position.
And so make us believe,
make us believe that you can be that team.
Because I'll tell you this,
walking out of that 49ers Bengals game last year,
I was a believer.
I was like, oh, man, like, Joe, it's back.
This team is really good.
And much like 2022, like it felt a lot like 2022.
I was like, all right, they're going to go on this run.
And so can they get back to that?
After all of the things we've talked about over the past couple of weeks,
even before this back-to-back wins, where it's like, all right, well, the offense,
they're pass blocking at the best level.
that they've ever done for Joe Burrow.
At the same time, the defense has its holes.
Well, now the defense is a little bit healthier,
but they're going to be tested more.
And so this is a make-us-believe game.
I think that's how we're going to market it.
I always talk, full disclosure, I always talk to Jake afterwards.
Like, all right, well, what should I put on the thumbnail,
the little graphic on YouTube that you see?
Make us believe, I think, is the words we're going to use today, Jake.
Yeah, we've had the conversation on air.
We got to the narrative that we want to spin this week while recording the show.
Let's continue the preview with a little bit more discussion on the offensive side of the ball,
including some injury updates with Thursday's practice participants.
We don't have the full injury report as of the time of recording,
but we have an idea of who is doing what at the beginning of practice,
at least so we can talk about some of those things and how that impact the team
and get to some of those important matchups in this game
that we're looking for from this team.
We will continue the preview of Bengals Eagles coming up next.
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All right, Jake, let's dive into some of these injuries and then we'll get into
matchups.
Injury-wise, good news.
Orlando Brown Jr.
size news.
He was back on the practice field again Thursday.
I would expect his designation to be limited again.
Feels like he's going to play, which if you would have told me that Sunday, certainly during
the game when it was clear that Cody Ford was going to finish in Cleveland, I would have been
pretty nervous about Orlando's chances of being able to suit up against the Eagles,
but it feels like he's trending in the right direction.
And it's important.
And the level at which he will be able to move will be important.
One of the keys to this game, as we can tie this in directly to some matchups that matter,
and if you listen to the crossover, this maybe is a little bit repetitive for you,
but the protection in this game is going to be crucial.
The Eagles last couple of weeks have racked up pressures and sacks.
are getting a lot of good performances from guys like Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat.
I have the right sweat there, right?
Yeah, Josh Sweat, Jalen Carter, Morrow Ojoomo, who for a young guy has really stepped up
on the interior defensive line for the Eagles, they have four passhurchers that can beat you.
And what did I say when we were talking to Louie yesterday?
If the Eagles can hold up in the secondary and get pressure with four,
that typically has been a recipe to slow down the sensitive.
Cincinnati Bengals. A big piece in helping to prevent getting pressure with Ford is Orlando Brown's
presence on the field, especially when the backup is Cody Ford. And we've seen the issues that
occur on the left side of the offensive line when Cody Ford has to line up next to Cordell-Bulsson.
Not to say that Cody Ford didn't have a really tough matchup last week. And you listen to the coaches,
you listen to the players. They're pleased with the effort that Cody Ford put forth against
Miles Garrett and at Cleveland Brown's defensive line.
And they did score two touchdowns with him in the game after all.
But the protection was noticeably different, right?
When you make that change of your best past protecting offensive linemen to a backup who was going to struggle.
And so if Orlando Brown is able to play, then the question becomes, can he still pass protect at a similar level that we've gotten accustomed to seeing for him this year, which has been his best past protecting year.
The guy doesn't miss games very often.
He's missed what?
one in his career. Is that right? Which was last year for the Cincinnati Bengals. And so
you could make that reasonable assumption that he's going to get out there and play through
whatever's ailing him, even though you've seen perhaps clips from beat reporters that he's not pushing
the sled early in practices through Wednesday and Thursday of this week. But if he is out there,
the level at which he's able to play is going to be important. If you get the Orlando Brown that
you're used to, or at least 98% of it, 95% of it, whatever the number is, then you're feeling
pretty good about that. And the presence that gives them on the left side to anchor that
offensive line. Otherwise, things could get dicey and one of the more important matches of the game.
Yeah, I think if Orlando's not out there, it's like, all right, well, now you're worried about
left tackle and the interior in general, in general. Still be worried about the interior, just
based on what the Eagles have there and just the top 10 talent that they've been able to, and really,
you could say top five in Jalen Carter's case,
but just the picks that they've invested on the interior.
They have some beats.
And so that's a concern already.
That's a matchup already.
And so getting Orlando or close to 100% Orlando with the way he's playing,
it's huge.
And it's really where I start, like you started,
think about it, it all goes together.
Do they need to score 40 this week?
Well, let's say they need to get into the 30s.
Are you doing that with Cody Ford at left tackle?
Maybe.
But it's a lot harder.
to do so than with Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle. And I think that's fair to say and
reasonable to say. On the other hand here, just injury-wise with Gino Stone, Gino Stone was on the
practice field Thursday after not practicing Wednesday. I would imagine he'll be limited to on the
injury report. I don't know for sure one way or the other on him. It does feel like all the
vibes are pointing toward him playing, whether it's Zach Taylor's comments, what Gino said after the
game, the fact that Gino talked with reporters in the locker room on Monday, all of those things
point to him playing. And it was probably just him being sore, then wanting to rest that shin,
that ankle area, one extra day while he was out on Wednesday. So I would be surprised at this point
if he didn't play on Sunday as well. And I think that one's important, too. We recently heard from
Lou Anna Romo talking about how pleased he's been with communication in the back end, despite
early season. They had some issues there. They're still night and day different in explosive
play rate on defense compared to last year.
And against this offense in particular, whether or not they're able to sustain that
will be a potential pivotal moment or not moment, but matchup in the game where you've
got to deal with AJ Brown's explosiveness and Devante Smith's explosiveness and Seyquan
Barkley's explosiveness.
And maybe Jalen Hurst doesn't have it anymore.
But whenever there's a rushing quarterback on the other side or a quarterback who has the
ability to run, I guess I should say, on the other side of the field for the Cincinnati Bengals
defense. It's something that's given them problems. Even Dorian Thompson Robinson for all of his
issues that he had in that game last week gave the Bengals problems with his legs with an explosive
run. So containing the explosive play, certainly something that we're going to be looking at on
defense, something we can even dive further into when we circle back and get more into the defensive
side of the ball. But Gino Stone's presence, I think, does matter there with the way things
have gone to last few weeks. And again, you can adjust for quality of competition. The Giants didn't
have the league neighbors. The Browns didn't want to push the ball downfield until the end of the
game when the Bengals were playing soft coverage with James Winston enters a game. Fine. They will
be tested this week. I can almost guarantee you with AJ Brown out there. And you'd rather have your
full complement of safeties, even if you want to see Jordan battle some. You can still do that. But having the
option of being able to continue to play Gino Stone in his role, I think is important for keeping
that secondary moving in the right direction where they're still going to have issues.
DJ Turner still had issues, past interference flags two weeks in a row in or near the
end zone.
So that will still be something we're going to have to talk about, but Gino Stone being there
in the back end to provide that stabilizing presence is still something that I think is
better than not having him as an option at all if he is available.
well you want him to be able to build on last week too like that that to me is the biggest part of it it's like you sign him for a reason if this team is going to to make us believers while sheldon rancins a gino stone and these free agent additions that you invested money in you need them to continue to to ascend and make an impact and they did against the browns and that needs to continue this week and you're right i mean the explosive play element i think that that is from a defensive standpoint the
key because Sequin Barclay is as explosive as a running back as there is right now. And I know
Derek Henry is Derek Henry. That's fine. But Barclay is elusive. And it's not just,
all right. If he gets downhill, you're in trouble. He can force mistackles in space because of the
lateral agility and the way he is as a runner. So a different runner, just as explosive in someone
that we saw last week, what he can do did it against his former team. That had to feel good. You can't
Let Barkley get off and get going.
I think that that's a huge, huge test for this Bengals defensive front.
It just makes everything so much easier for the Eagles offense if they're able to run the
ball effectively and have that threat.
And it makes things so much harder on the Bengals' back end to deal with A.J. Brown.
And the A.J. Brown's sake, Sequin Barkley's synergy, I think, is hard to overstate with the
guy that threatens you the way AJ Brown does, much of the way that T. Higgins and Jemar
Chase threaten opposing defenses and what that can do for.
an offensive line that is built to run block in Philly,
big difference between the type of offensive line
that Philly is going to throw out there
versus what the Bengals are throwing out there
and the ability of Saquan to take advantage of that run blocking
if you're forced to dedicate resources deep
to deal with the likes of AJ Brown and Devante Smith
can make things hard.
And so you can't let a team have you on your heels like that.
That is definitely a key matchup in this game.
We will continue and wrap up our preview,
maybe get to a prediction at the end of the show here as well.
with the Eagles coming to town to face the Bengals
and those white striped helmets
on Sunday coming up next.
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One interesting note that I heard
when I was listening to the various national media folks
talk about this game and talk about the Bengals, James,
is something that might be a little bit surprising
based on our conversation with Louie yesterday
and my general preconceptions about the Eagles defense.
They are one of the worst defenses in the NFL
when defending passes.
outside the numbers downfield.
And if the Bengals get opportunities to do that in this game,
and they get those single high shots with Jamar Chase,
singled up with Quinnion Mitchell,
and we have talked about Quinnion Mitchell.
We talked about him a lot yesterday,
our affinity for him in the pre-draft process.
That should be a matchup that you like Jamar Chasing,
despite all of those things.
Maybe Mitchell is up to the challenge.
He is a rookie, though,
and Jamar Chase is established in having one of his best years.
Yeah.
So when you have Jamar Chase and you have T. Higgins and you have Joe Burrow going the way he's gone for most of this year, those guys should be able to do a lot for you on offense.
If, as we talked about earlier, everything else holds up from a protection standpoint, Orlando Brown, all those things.
This is another game where you can look at this offense and say run it through Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and let your horses win you the game.
No doubt.
This is the horse game where you.
you need Jamar and T to go in and obviously they did it last week to a certain degree,
but it's it's a big one where you're going to need Joe to complete probably 70 plus percent
of his passes and hit on the explosive plays when they're there and on Cork it when they're
there see it when they're there. And it's certainly Jamar and T, it starts there. And it should
always start there. The difference this week versus last week, Jake, is it can't end there. And
that means obviously
Jamar and T have to make big plays
and I think T's playing the best ball
of his career right now.
Really excited.
The explosives are coming.
Joe had him on one.
It's a little short,
held up there a little long,
whatever you want to,
however you want to view it.
And Denzel Ward was able to get in
on the pass breakup.
But he crushed Denzel Ward one-on-one.
One of the best corners in the league
and had plenty of space.
So maybe it's a T. Higgins explosive.
game and that happens. I do wonder how the eagles are going to treat these guys because it's,
it's such a unique wide receiver room in what they do and how they're to, I mean, they're different
than E.J. Brown and Devante Smith, but certainly. Like, there are other star receivers, star duos,
but these guys, Higgins and Chase are different. So starts there, but you also need Andre Yosevash
to make some plays this week and the tight ends to make some plays this week. You can't have two receivers
catch passes and one tight end catch a pass for two yards and that's it. They're going to need more
in that area. And I think they're up for it for sure. And I think they'll get it on Sunday.
Part of that is volume too, right? Joe Burrow threw very few passes last week. Part of that is the
overall volume of the offense. You can't be- 25, 15 of 25. Can't be getting out snapped by 20 plays
in this game. That probably is a losing formula for the Cincinnati Bengals. They've been getting
out snapped a little bit more, maybe a lot more, than you would like to see them go this year.
Part of that was the defensive struggles early in the season.
Part of that is just the way things have gone in some of these games where the offense has been streaky.
But you would like to see that be pretty close to even, if not in the Bengals' favor this week.
If it's in the Bengals favor, things are going really well, I think.
But it will be interesting to see how Vic Fangio approaches this game.
We've talked about this a lot this week as well.
This is another defensive coordinator that the Bengals haven't seen a ton of, but compared to Shane Bowen and Jim Schwartz, who they've seen three times over the last three years, at least, Schwartz all in the last year and a half.
But Fangio, a respected defensive coordinator in this league for a reason.
And you can look at how they approached the Giants last week and Malik neighbors.
And maybe you'll get some hints for how they want to deal with Jamar Chase.
maybe they lean more into zone coverages this week.
And Fangio's defenses over the years have been really good at disguising,
making everything look the same,
being disciplined in terms of passing things off between one zone to the next,
between defenders, they have good communication in those defenses.
There are a couple of young corners in that secondary, though.
And so whether or not they'll be able to carry out all of those Vic Fangio duties,
we'll see.
But it'll be interesting to see what Fangio's plan is.
and on the Bengal side of things,
can the coaching staff adapt more quickly
if they have the wrong game plan coming into the game?
And they need to find answers.
They need to find the things that will work
and throw rock for once when the opponent throws scissors
and not keep getting got in the paper rock scissors game
that often occurs between offensive coordinators
and defensive coordinators.
Yeah, you're right.
It's a big storyline is how the chess match,
the paper rock scissors match however you want to,
the upscale in her down.
Yeah, we've simplified it.
We're down to paper,
rock, scissors from chess.
Very, very easy game.
By the way,
did you know Eric,
all big chess fan?
Oh,
good.
He brought his chess board
to the stadium in Cleveland.
So he was clearly playing it in the hotel room
or whatever.
Like, he had it out.
Like, that's how I noticed.
I haven't been able to talk to him about it yet,
but it's something I knew you would like.
Yeah, that's fun.
That's fun.
It's huge.
Like that,
and that's something we saw last week, right?
where this offense kind of was searching.
It's fine to search.
You just have to find answers faster and get to it quicker.
And they would up, like there were a couple times where they should have scored in the first half last week.
It didn't happen.
Those things can't happen.
And even if they're out of your control, you hope that things are going to bounce your way a little bit more in those scenarios.
But I will say this.
When you look at this offense, Joe, even in those moments when they're searching,
the thing that he's been really good at
and I do think that this ties into the defense too
as we discuss both
and I talked about this on the crossover
like the splash play element
make sure that you're not giving up
the sack fumbles even if you're punting
punning especially with Ryan Rico back there
that's not the worst thing in the world
in some of these situations
you don't want
the all Jordan Davis
recovers a fumble after
insert whatever lineman hits
him hits Joe Burrow or the
the interception because the ball is tipped at the line.
Avoid those.
If you can avoid those, that would be big.
Yeah.
Yeah, the backbreaking turnovers can't happen.
That's part of how they lost two games to those good teams.
The Kansas City fumble, the interception against Baltimore.
You can't have those turnovers when a lot of things are going well.
And they're just huge plays in the game, the sudden change moments.
Can't have that, obviously.
I feel like that almost goes without saying.
But because it's been such a factor in two of their close losses of good teams this year,
you kind of have to say it.
And the other thing that we'll just call out again here is if they can do a good job of making the Eagles somewhat one-dimensional, forcing them into drop-back passing situations.
The Trey Hendrickson and Fred Johnson matchup should be strongly in the Bengals favor.
This is very obvious.
But Fred Johnson, for all of his highlights going around social media this weekend, run blocking, is giving it up as a pass protector.
Trey Hendrickson usually eats, I mean significantly more than normal against particularly bad left tackles and pass protection.
that opportunity is there for him this week.
I'm also interested to see how the interior,
without Mackay Beckton, potentially this week,
who's dealing with the concussion,
holds up against the Sheldon Rankins, B.J. Hill,
and even the depth of Chris Jenkins and McKinley Jackson rotation on the interior
if they can get some pressure there in those situations.
The run-Dy actually has been better the last few weeks,
including against Baltimore, really until that Derek Henry overtime run,
which was not a good play.
The run-dey is held up lately,
So instead, I'm looking at Cam Taylor-Briton DJ Turner with their matchups against AJ Brown Devante Smith.
And those are the ones where I'm like, okay, let's see if this backend can hold up.
Because like I said, this Eagles defense will test this team downfield.
And they've held up to the challenge through seven weeks this year, second best explosive play rate I heard.
And that's a Paul Daner Jr. credit there for having that stat.
And that's where I heard it anyway.
But that will need to continue this week, I think, against.
a tough group of skill players with those eagles that we've been talking about in this episode.
Yeah.
And it's next to impossible to do that or much harder to go back to it if Barclay is running for
six a carry or has those explosives.
So it all it all ties together.
It's a really tough test, good test.
And Jake, do you have anything else?
Because I'm about to unleash the prediction here.
Do it.
All right.
I think they do it.
Like it just feels like the defense,
Sheldon Rankins, B.J. Hill,
Frey Hendrickson, even Sam Hubbard's been playing much better in recent weeks.
The back end coming together, I think they're going to give up some big plays.
I think they'll give up a couple big runs and in more points.
I mean, they've given up 21 points over the past two weeks.
They're going to give up more than that on Sunday.
But you combine that with the way Joe's play.
And I do think that Bengals have the better quarterback.
I think Jamar Chase is slightly better than A.J. Brown.
I think that T. Higgins right now is playing much better than Devante Smith.
And so I think that the big names for the Bengals are just going to rise up down the stretch.
And instead of the other way where it's the backbreaking turnover, the play where you have it,
and then you fumble it away for whatever reason, or you bobble the snapper.
I think the Bengals play well down the stretch and they get a win.
I'll take them 30 to 27 in a scramble drill down to the finish.
I think it goes down to the wire at Paycor on Sunday.
Make us believers, right?
Make us believers.
That's what we're looking for this week.
Last note, I'll throw out there as we wrap up the show.
The Eagles have gone for fourth downs this year three times more often than the Bengals.
In one fewer game, too.
So as we've talked about, honestly, the last few weeks, keeping the Eagles out of ahead of the six situations
where they can get into fourth and shorts, the Eagles well go for those.
That has been something that has extended drives for the Bengals opponents the last couple of weeks at times.
They're going to want to get out of those situations if they can.
can help it. And that goes back to what you're talking about earlier with Sequin Barkley.
Yeah, commanders. I mean, the commanders, the commanders were the ones where it was just like,
man, they cannot get off the field against this team because it was always third and fourth and
short. Yeah. So if they could avoid that situation, they make their lives easier. Obviously,
easier said than done against the team that wants to run the ball, stay ahead of the chains and
is built to do it. But we'll see what happens on Sunday. We'll find out if they've made us believers.
Make us believe, Jake.
It's the make you believe game.
Whiteout.
That's right.
So,
until next time,
we appreciate you listening
to this episode
of the Locked-on Bengals podcast.
We'll be back with you
after the game on Sunday.
Enjoy the game.
And until then,
Ho day.
And have a good one.
