Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Week 6 Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants First Look - Dealing with Malik Nabers and Dexter Lawrence

Episode Date: October 9, 2024

The guys break down the biggest stories for the Cincinnati Bengals desperately looking for the beginning of a run to salvage their season on Sunday Night Football against the New York Giants. Along wi...th Locked On Giants' Patricia Traina, we also get into what's going on with the Giants after an encouraging Week 5 win in Seattle, and the most important keys to victory for each team.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!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.ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFL to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout.  PrizePicksDownload the app or click HERE 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.GametimeDownload 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.  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.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. VisitBetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONtoday to get 10% off your first month.RobinhoodThe new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold. Sign up at robinhood.com/gold Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC.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)N 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)
Starting point is 00:00:00 The one and four Cincinnati Bengals are in a bit of a spiral. The two and three New York Giants coming off an encouraging road win in Seattle. Let's break down the biggest stories and keys to victory in week six's Sunday night football game. You are locked on NFL crossover. Part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day. What's going on Bengals fans? What's going on Giants fans?
Starting point is 00:00:34 This is a locked on NFL crossover. week six Sunday night football in the Meadowlands. I'm Jake. Let's go along with James Rupin from the Lockdown Bengals podcast along with Patricia Trana from the Locked on Giants podcast for this week's Sunday night football game. We're part of the Lockdown podcast network covering your team every day on YouTube and everywhere you get your podcast. If you're looking for daily coverage of your favorite team, you are in the right place.
Starting point is 00:01:04 Welcome back to the everydayers. Welcome back to those of you who make us your favorite. first list and appreciate all of the regulars here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. And the crossovers on the Lockdown Podcast Network are weekly first look at each team where we cross over with each team is presented by PrizeFix. You can download the PriceFix app today and use code Lockdown NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. And guys, big game for the Bengals.
Starting point is 00:01:34 They are coming off a very emotional and hard fought. 41, 38 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in overtime, a loss that I'm sure took a lot out of them emotionally. So basically, coming into this game, you know, they're going to have to pull up their bootstraps, get back on the saddle, so to speak. Can they do it? What are the storylines that they need to address in order to get back on the saddle? Yeah, I think the biggest story, it's twofold. And whether you want to look at it, glass half full or glass half empty,
Starting point is 00:02:08 And naturally, when you're one and four, you look at it glass half empty, is the defense. And we can get to the defense coming up. But the biggest shock to me is, one, that they're one and four. Two, that their best players are playing awesome. Joe Burrow has thrown for 948 yards, is completing 75% of his passes, and has thrown 10 touchdowns over the past three games.
Starting point is 00:02:34 Jamar Chase has nearly 400 of those yards, five touchdowns, a touchdown of 41 yards or more in each of the past three games. The Bengals are one and two in those matchups. And so that to me is a huge storyline from an offensive standpoint is they're scoring 30 plus points. They're averaging 28 points per game right now, which would be tied for the most in Bengals history.
Starting point is 00:02:58 And that's including week one when they only scored 10 points against the Patriots. So it's biggest storyline from an offensive standpoint is, all right, what more can they do realistically to get this team over the hump because it's not like you can point to a Jamar Chase or a Joe Burr or even T. Higgins who had nine catches and two touchdowns against the Ravens. You can't point to those guys and say, all right, play better. They're playing in an extremely high level and it hasn't resulted in wins. Indeed. And you know, you mentioned the defense. You guys just lost Dax Hill, I think, who is your top cornerback. How do they rebound from that. I mean, the defense, as you mentioned, has been kind of struggling a little bit, but to lose
Starting point is 00:03:41 the top cornerback and, you know, there's a chance, obviously, Malik neighbors could be back this week for the Giants. I mean, how does Cincinnati, you know, recover given what's going on in that secondary? Yeah, that's a scary one. I'm not going to lie to you. Daxil was there, certainly their most consistent corner this year. I would say best cover corner for sure. And so to lose him to know that there's a Malik neighbors waiting. And honestly, It doesn't really matter who's waiting right now at this point for this defense. This defense has just been bad. I mean, it's pretty wild to think about where we thought they would be.
Starting point is 00:04:20 Because I think we thought they'd be kind of league average somewhere in there. I don't think we expected them to be a top 10 unit. But the Gino Stone edition, you go get Sheldon Rankins who's been injured. You add a guy in Von Bell who knows the system. and I think they expected the back end to be stable, and it hasn't been. They've given up big plays to tight ends and opposing wide receivers. Terry McLaurin had some huge plays against them. And I think that's where it's like, all right, well, what can this defense do well?
Starting point is 00:04:54 Because they just lost their best cover corner. They aren't getting after the passer. They're not good against the run. I'm not sure what else I need to cover there. It's been a struggle. And Jake, I'm sure you feel the same. way just looking at this defense. We've spent a ton of time on Lockdown Bengals talking about it. Like there are a ton of questions and the answer keeps coming back to. They just have to play
Starting point is 00:05:15 better find the right buttons to push. And they've pushed a bunch of buttons and it's just not the right ones. Yeah. The questions we've been asking this week on Locked on Bengals, Patricia, are who's on the hot seat and what do they do to fix it? And can they bring Dexter Lawrence back with them from New York, right? No, no, can't have. Sorry. That's not allowed. No, he's not allowed. I personally would veto it. Obviously, that's a pipe dream, but that's the kind of desperation we're talking about. Luana Rumo blitzing more than he's ever blitzed against Lamar Jackson last week. Emptying the bench, I think 22 defensive players had at least one snap in that game.
Starting point is 00:05:54 Not something that you typically see rotations that deep. And I know they lost Dax Hill in that game. They had to go deep into their secondary a little bit, and you're always rotating on the defensive line. But they've got five safeties on the. team, four of them got into the game. They went to a four-four. And so they're really throwing stuff at the wall. And people who listened to yesterday's Lockdown Bengals episode, heard me say this several times. That's where they're at with this defense right now, is throw it at the wall and hope something works. Gamble on every play and maybe get a stop here and a stop there.
Starting point is 00:06:25 And hopefully you do it three plays in a row and you can get a couple of stops where hopefully you can create one turnover. And honestly, they did that against Baltimore for a half. And then Baltimore gave them a gift in overtime. That still wasn't enough. So not only do we have these consistency questions on defense that James is talking about, but it's also like, can they just finish a game? Can they find a way to make the play at the end of the game? Even when they're scoring 30 plus points,
Starting point is 00:06:52 can the offense get that one last drive that it's not really fair to ask them to have to do after they've scored 38 points in regulation, and that should win 99% of the time? But can they just go get one more drive so that the defense doesn't have to go back? out there and they haven't been able to get that one more play this year. So it sounds like to me that the defense just putting in overtime because they just can't get off the field. And look, the Giants, we can kind of sympathize with that because earlier in the year it was
Starting point is 00:07:21 kind of like that. The Giants couldn't get off the field. But, you know, here's something to give you guys a little bit of hope for the Bengals fans. Joe Burrow has never won against an NFC East team. eventually that streak's got to come to an end. Hopefully it won't be this week for the sake of the giant fans, but that's a little nugget for you. What a wild stat.
Starting point is 00:07:43 And it's because he got hurt his rookie year, but what a wild stat. Yeah. They tied the Eagles in week three of his rookie year. I remember them losing to the Cowboys, the Andy Dalton, he didn't start that game. And then they lose in Dallas.
Starting point is 00:07:57 Yeah, that is wild. I don't know if that gives anybody hope, Patricia. I think that's the other one. Hey, listen, all quote unquote good things have to come to an end. All bad things eventually come to an end. But then again, you look at teams like the Giants who have not beaten Dallas and what now, seven games. So you never know. Maybe the street gets extended.
Starting point is 00:08:16 At least the giant fans are hoping for that. The only cost. Yeah, are locked on Bengals listeners. Certainly know this. But just for the Giants fans out there, the Bengals have four losses. A total of 15 points. They lost to the Patriots by six in week one. So their last three losses by a combined nine points.
Starting point is 00:08:36 So the late game execution is huge. If this game is tight, that's a huge thing to keep in mind down the stretch. Bengals fans will be sweating. Coming up next, let's take a shift and think about what's going on with the New York Giants, two and three, an encouraging win. We'll get into the biggest stories around that team coming up next. This crossover episode on the Lockdown Podcast Network is sponsored by, Zbiotics. Zbiotics, pre-alcohol probiotic drink is a world's first genetically engineered
Starting point is 00:09:11 probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. We all know this. We've all felt that. It's this byproduct, not dehydration. That's to blame for your rough next day. And pre-alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make Zibiotics your first drink of the night. drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. And here's how you use it. You drink pre-alcohol first before your first drink of the night. Step two, drink responsibly, pace yourself, hydrate, get a good night's sleep.
Starting point is 00:09:46 And then step three, all you have to do is wake up. You're going to feel refreshed and ready to take on the day. Right now, our listeners can get 15% on their first order at zbiotics.com slash locked on NFL when they use code locked on NFL at checkout. Zbiotics is back with a 100% money back guarantee. so if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to zbiotex.com slash locked on NFL
Starting point is 00:10:11 and use code locked on NFL for 15% off at checkout. Today's show also brought to by Game Time. Game Time is the app you need. Whether you're a Bengals fan, whether you're a Giants fan, if you're thinking about going to Sunday night football, game time is going to make it a lot easier to make it there and watch Daniel Jones and Joe Burrow go head to head. And it's because they have features that you're not,
Starting point is 00:10:34 not going to get anywhere else. From panoramic views directly from the seats you're looking at, so you know exactly what the view is going to be like when you get to the stadium, to all in pricing that shows exactly what the seat is going to cost without all of the hidden fees, you got to get to GameTime. And they have a new feature now called GameTime picks. It makes getting tickets to your favorite events even easier. It filters out all the fluff so you don't have to filter through thousands of tickets to show you the best deals. Download the GameTime app, create an account use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.
Starting point is 00:11:08 Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-FL-L-K-N-FL-L-K-N-FLak-N-FL Lack-N-FL-L-N-FL-L-L-N-FLan today. What time is it? Game time. Let's talk New York Giants, Patricia. Let's talk about the biggest stories with those New York Giants. The biggest story to me is Malik Navors. That, from the outsider perspective, is the most fun thing for me to talk about when I look at this New York
Starting point is 00:11:35 Giants' offense. is that the biggest story with this giant's offense right now, or is there something else that we should be aware of that we're not thinking about? Yeah, that's one of the big stories. Malik Neighbors was in the concussion protocol, missed last week's game. He was in the early stages. Now, right now we don't have an update as we take this, but the hope is that Malik Neighbors will at least be in the non-contact part
Starting point is 00:11:58 of the protocol and be on track to play. But the big story, I think, you got to look at the Giants' offensive performance. last week against Seattle. Now, a lot of people, you know, said after the Giants had that win against the Cleveland Browns, oh, the Cleveland Browns, you know, their offense stinks, you know, it's kind of a, you know, people weren't as enthused about it, even though Cleveland had a fantastic defense. This week, or this past week, I should say, the Giants put together a complete game on offense. The first time since 2014, yes, we have to go all of that.
Starting point is 00:12:36 way back to the Eli Manning era that the Giants had their quarterback, their running back, and their receiver all go to have a 100 plus passer rating, 100 yards rushing, and 100 yards receiving. First time since Eli Manning in 2014 did it with a, I think it was, I forget who the receiver was, but first time since Eli Manning did. So that was big. So this. The big story here for the Giants, can they keep it up? You know, you look at the offensive side of the ball. Daniel Jones actually has been playing pretty good ball, you know? Throw out that week one loss to the Vikings who have made every quarterback they face look silly.
Starting point is 00:13:24 The Giants playing good ball on offense. You know, Tyrone Tracy stepped in for Devon Singletary, who was sideline, had 100 plus, I think it's 129 yards rushing, which was the most out of all the week. rushers last week. Darius Slayton, who, you know, every other week there's an article coming out in these national sites. Giants should trade Darius Slayton. He stepped up for Malik neighbors who was absent.
Starting point is 00:13:48 I mean, my gosh, what a great offensive performance last week against a Seattle defense, which admittedly had some injuries, but they have a very good defensive secondary, and the Giants were still able to do what they needed to do on offense. So the big question now becomes is, You know, you get Devin Singleton Terry back. You get Malik neighbors back. You have, you know, Tyrone Tracy, do you mix him in more? Do you mix in tight end Theo Johnson who had five receptions in more?
Starting point is 00:14:17 You know, what do you do with this plethora of a sudden of weapons that you have for the passing game as well as in the running game? So that would be one of the big stories for the offensive side. Can they keep it going? Yeah, I think the answer is, heck yes, unless this Bengals defense is much. different than we've seen over the past few weeks. I mean, you said, you said that stat, and I'm thinking like, well, 100-yard passer rating or 100-plus passer rating, 100-yard rush or 100-yard receiver, I wouldn't bet against it this week, especially with the reinforcements coming back for the Giants.
Starting point is 00:14:52 Look, Malik Neighbors is so scary to me in general. And now you have either Cam Taylor Britt or DJ Turner on him. I do wonder, Jake, do they try to double him? him some. Yes. You know, you have to, right? And so how much? Given the Jamar treatment, cloud his side of the field. We'll talk about it when we talk about keys of the game. But then how much do you trust whoever is doing that to execute it properly? I mean, they've given up big plays. They gave up big plays to all three Ravens' tight ends. And I know Lamar's different than any other quarterback in the league with what he can do off script and all of those things.
Starting point is 00:15:32 He extended so many plays last week. But this defense is in a best. bad way. So the fact that the Giants' offense is moving in the right direction, now's the time you want to face the Bengals defense. And if you're the Bengals defense, you got to find a way to make Daniel Jones uncomfortable, I think, because if he has time back there, just like any other quarterback, he's got weapons, whether it's Slayton, like you mentioned, obviously Malik Neighbors is someone we're going to talk a ton about, or Wendell Robinson as well, guys that he certainly trust in the passing game. Yeah, they're going to have to find a way to take advantage to that Giants offensive line that outside of Andrew Thomas, I'll be curious to get your take there,
Starting point is 00:16:10 Patricia, as we talk more about the keys to this game. But let's talk about that Giants defense. Some key additions on that side of the ball this year. Dexter Lawrence, obviously the apple of my eye, a guy that I would like to steal and poach from the New York Giants. But how have things been going on that side of the ball so far this year? You know, right now the Giants, believe it or not, lead the league in set. They've had explosions. What was it? Seven sacks last week.
Starting point is 00:16:41 And then I forget how many they had against Cleveland, but they had quite a few against Cleveland. You know, the big concern for the Giants coming in was the defensive secondary. And admittedly, the secondary kind of was like, meh, you know, particularly Deonté Banks, who is supposed to be their CB1. Well, against Dallas, we all saw the play with C.D. Lamb
Starting point is 00:17:02 and how Deonti Banks just didn't really give the, effort. And he got called out last week by his position coach, Jerome Henderson. And basically, when he got called out, you either respond or you tuck your tail between your legs and you go home. Deonti Banks responded. He went up against D.K. Metcalfe. Hold them to, I think, two out of four past targets. I think it was 47 yards. And he traveled with Metcalf. So the confidence is building there. Now you look at the front seven. You add in the front seven there. You mentioned Dexter Lawrence. who is an absolute beast. Good luck trying to stop him,
Starting point is 00:17:38 because Dexter will not be stopped. You know, they call him sexy Dexy, but he is a monster. He is an absolute monster to handle. And even, you know, Brian Burns started to make some plays. Kavon, Tibido, you might not see it necessarily on the stat sheet,
Starting point is 00:17:55 but you kind of are starting to see how they are influencing things by opening up opportunities for other guys. So the Giants defense by Shane Bowen mixing up, the coverages, you know, mixing up the coverages, mixing up the pressure packages. Bowen came in, and you guys probably know this from all the times you saw him with Tennessee, not really much of a blitzer, but he's blitzed a little bit more this year with the Giants, mixed it up, not at the level of Wink Martindale, but he's brought more pressure and more creative pressure, and that's kept
Starting point is 00:18:27 the opposing offenses off guard. Yeah, it's sexy-dexy, by the way, is one of the most underrated nicknames that I've heard. I mean, I hadn't heard it before today, and maybe I should have, but that's, to me, this Bengals offense, they're playing at such a high level, but the way, if you're an opposing defense, is get after Joe,
Starting point is 00:18:53 take away Joe's ability, especially to extend plays. They had a couple longer developing plays against the Ravens. They were confident in their past protection. The touchdown that really got them jump started at the end of the first half, a longer developing play, Jamar Chase's running across the field,
Starting point is 00:19:08 and Joe had enough time, took a shot, but had enough time to get it there. And so can you continue to do that? I think that's a huge storyline when it comes to this giant's defense because you don't want to put banks. Banks won't be on an island against Jamar Chase. You don't want to do that one-on-one much.
Starting point is 00:19:26 It'll happen a little bit, I'm sure. But you don't want to do that much. And when that does happen, if you're the Bengals, you want him to have enough time to Joe to have enough time to get the ball and take advantage of those one-on-one matchups. So it's a huge storyline every week and certainly intriguing now that we've seen this Giants defense play well against an offense in Seattle that was playing at a high level. Yeah, I think these trench matchups will be interesting to say the least on both sides of the
Starting point is 00:19:52 ball. And we will dive into what needs to go right for each team, three keys to victory, where the interesting matchups are to finish up this crossover coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Fandall. You can start the season big, whether you're a Giants fan or Bengals fan right now with America's number one sports book and get started with $200 in bonus bets with Fandall guaranteed when you place your first $5.com. And right now, the Bengals are favored on the road against the Giants by three and a half points. Also, the over under at 48 and a half, given Malik neighbors returning, given the state of the Bengals defense. and what Joe Bro's done on offense, I think the over is certainly intriguing there.
Starting point is 00:20:36 You can get in on all of the action from Sunday night football to the entire week six NFL slate at fandle.com, where again, you will get $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. Again, that's fandle.com. Time to dive into the three keys to victory for each team in this crossover Thursday presented by prize picks where you can download the app and use code Lockdown NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Jake, let's go and James Rupin from Lockdown Bengals along with Patricia Trana from Lockdown Giants here to break down three keys to victory.
Starting point is 00:21:17 And Patricia, let's start with those giants. I'm looking at Dexter Lawrence. I'm looking at Brian Burns. I'm looking at Malik neighbors. Who are you looking at when you're thinking about keys to victory for the New York Giants? I'm looking at Daniel Jones. Can he keep going? I mean, the last, since week two, he's had three multiple touchdown games, two touchdowns, no interceptions in all three of those games. Can he keep that going? You know, we talked about earlier how the Bengals defense is kind of, you know, I don't want to say messed up, but, you know, it's lacking to be nice. So can Daniel Jones take advantage now that, you know, Dax Hill isn't out there? You know, how, how can. you know, the offensive line of the Giants, I think, has done a really, really good job with
Starting point is 00:22:06 its past protection. Daniel Jones is not getting knocked around like a pinball as much as he was. So I think that's going to be important. So that would certainly be one of the keys. Can Daniel Jones and that receiving group take advantage of that banged up Bengals defensive secondary? I think another one, obviously, winning in the trenches. I mean, it sounds elementary, but Dexter Lawrence provides a push. You know, he's just. drawing double and triple teams. Reminds me almost of how Michael Strayhan back in the day used to draw two, three guys on him to slow him down. And even that didn't work.
Starting point is 00:22:40 And can the Giants take advantage of them? There have been some games where they double or triple Dexter Lawrence and guys aren't getting off single blocks taking advantage. So they need to make Joe Burrow uncomfortable. And, you know, because no quarterback likes to be made uncomfortable. No quarterback likes to get hit. And then finally, I would say, find a way to slow down Jamar Chase and those receivers because the Bengals have good receivers. And who do you really devote your resources to?
Starting point is 00:23:12 Do you double up Chase? Do you double up, you know, somebody else? What do you do against that Giants defensive secondary? They played better last week, like I said, against the Seahawks' triple threat. But can they keep it going? And if so, how are they going to allocate the resources? to stop those guys. Yeah, I always think it's interesting how teams play the Bengals wide receivers because it is unique where you might not play a lot of too high safeties and then that's exactly what you do against the Bengals.
Starting point is 00:23:42 And in facing the Seattle Seahawks and especially how D.K. Metcalf was playing going into that game. It certainly gives the Giants a way to test the waters. But I totally agree with you about the trenches. And to me, that's the one path. the Giants are going to throw a wrench in this Bengals offense, it's that, right? Jake, I mean, what else would you say? I would expect Joe to make the right reads. And if he has to use his tight ends, we've seen him do that. We've seen him run the offense through the running backs when needed. And certainly we know about the receiver. So getting pressure on him can limit that.
Starting point is 00:24:17 Other than that, if you take away Jamar and T, well, he's going to have other options that he can beat you with. The other thing that stands out to me about the New York defense is they have athletes all over the field athletes at every position from the front four to the secondary to the linebackers where they of course add Isaiah Simmons to that linebacking group and maybe he's not the best linebacker in the world but he's certainly a great athlete and we know that so there's more athleticism in this unit than most of the defenses if not all of the defenses of bangles of face this year which includes the Washington commanders and Carolina Panthers two of the worst defenses in the NFL but it comes down to how they handle dexter Lawrence and that
Starting point is 00:24:51 Brian Burns and marius men's matchup to me very interesting more of a speed rusher, the agile type rusher, and Brian Burns. And there's a clear weakness on tape for Amarius Mim so far, where occasionally he will still overset, occasionally he will still get beat with those quick moves back inside. Mims dealing with a very sore ankle after he got kicked in that surgically repaired ankle last week and dealt with what he described as potentially a reaction with the nervous system where he got kicked, perhaps with some exposure there. So Zach Taylor describing him is very sore, hopeful for him to go this week.
Starting point is 00:25:24 but if he can't or if he's limited in some capacity, that matchup is a bit concerning where Joe Burrow and this offensive line have been able to manage pressure really well. I think that for the first time since that Chiefs game where you have to deal with Chris Jones, and that Steve Spagnolo defense, there is a bigger challenge in terms of a pressure package coming from this New York Giants defense this week.
Starting point is 00:25:44 But James, from a Bengals perspective, what do you see as the three keys for the Bengals to win this game? You're going to see it align a little bit with Patricia's just on the opposite side of the spectrum. You got to make Daniel Jones uncomfortable. You got to get after him, hit him, find a way to pressure him, and along those lines, the run game, which I'll get into in just a second. You got to keep rolling on offense.
Starting point is 00:26:08 Key number two, three straight games of 30 plus points. That has to continue. And then finish. They haven't finished games. More losses, a total of 15 points, games on the line every single time, and they have not finished even in their lone win. win. They could have put the Panthers away much, much sooner. They didn't let Carolina hang around. And so the path for this defense, the way to neutralize things a little bit, because you're not
Starting point is 00:26:37 going to be able to guard Malik neighbors all day. And I'm not sure if you are able to do that with a bunch of resources, well, then there's going to be other guys that are in one-on-one situations. Make Daniel Jones uncomfortable because that'll lead to some turnovers. If you take away the run and you're not giving up five plus yards per. carry that will go a long way as well he's agile and so he's certainly not lamar jackson but but he's not jacobby brissette either and so you got to find a way uh to make sure that he doesn't beat you with with his legs and then like i said about the offense this offense is playing as well as we've seen them play and they're as multiple as they've ever been in the joeboro era because they can win
Starting point is 00:27:18 with a bunch of different ways and i do think it's going to be interesting to see how amarius mims does this week, especially if that ankle is a bit sore, but you need this offensive line to keep Joe upright, even though it's much easier said than done. Zach Moss, huge in past protection. We'll see how he does this week after tweaking his ankle against the Ravens, huge from a past protection standpoint to have him out there. And then the finishing games part of it, there's going to be a moment. I don't think the Bengals are just going to go there and get blown out.
Starting point is 00:27:49 I think they're going to be inspired. I think that they're going to play very. motivated. But I also expect this game to be close because it feels like every Bengals game is going to be within 10 points. And so let's say it's a three-point game or a seven-point game in the fourth quarter and Joe Brawl has the ball. Can he go finish it? Or are they going to let the Giants hang around? I think that that's huge in what is very much a must-win game for the Bengals. And to your point, James, the Giants don't have a very good record on Sunday night football. especially at home.
Starting point is 00:28:25 So if there was ever a week for the Bengals to snap out of it, this might be a good one if they can, you know, batten down the hatches, so to speak. Patricia, when you looked at the schedule for the Giants before the year started, when you looked at this game, what were your thoughts about playing the Bengals in week six on Sunday night football at home coming into the season before the season started? Oh, I automatically had it down as a loss. Meanwhile, we're looking at this game from the Bengals side thinking,
Starting point is 00:28:52 oh, they have a soft schedule to open. Yeah, they have Kansas City. Yeah, they have Baltimore. But they have Washington. They have New York. They have New England. They have Carolina. And now we're looking at this game and I'm thinking,
Starting point is 00:29:02 all right, Malik neighbors, Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns. Yeah. Can those guys wreck a game? Yeah. Can they drive the Bengals into a deeper and darker place than they already are? And those are the questions that we will get answers to in this game. For more to preview this week six Sunday night football game, you can check out Locked-on Giants with Patricia Traynor
Starting point is 00:29:24 or Locked-on Bengals with myself, Jake Liscoe, and James Rupine on our respective channels. And we'll have some more content for you there this week before the game. Patricia, always a pleasure to chat with you. That's going to do it for this Locked-on NFL crossover. And until next time, we appreciate you listening to the Locked-on Podcast Network.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.