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In a typical year, the Cincinnati Bengals playing the NFC East isn’t all that interesting.
But 2020 isn’t a typical year.
The Bengals will host Andy Dalton’s Dallas Cowboys. And just as interesting is the fact the Bengals will play at the Washington Redskins — setting up a Joe Burrow vs. Chase Young No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle.
According to NFL.com’s Grant Gordon, this will mark only the 22nd time since 1970 the No. 1 and No .2 picks collide as rookies. But it did happen last year when second pick Nick Bosa and the San Francisco 49ers upended first pick Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals.
From a Bengals perspective, that’s one part of a concerning trend, per Gordon: “With Bosa and the Niners’ wins, the No. 2 overall pick is 14-7 in the 21 aforementioned meetings and 6-1 across the last seven, per NFL Research.”
Also in the backdrop of the matchup with the Redskins is Burrow’s showdown with Dwayne Haskins, the eventual starter at Ohio State that pushed him into moving on to LSU.
It’s a marquee matchup in a lot of ways for a rookie Burrow. Washington isn’t an AFC North team or usually one of the most notable stops on a Bengals calendar. But the Burrow storylines — plus the measuring stick that is a game against another rebuilder — makes it one of the top dates on the upcoming schedule release.
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