What do the Washington Commanders need to do to pull off an upset of the Cincinnati Bengals in the Week 3 edition of Monday Night Football?
The Commanders opened as 7.5-point underdogs against the winless Bengals for Monday’s game at Paycor Stadium. Washington is coming off its first win, a 21-18 victory over the New York Giants.
The Bengals return home after suffering an upset loss to the Patriots in Week 1. Cincinnati played much better last week but lost to the defending world champion Kansas City Chiefs on a field goal as time expired.
We gave four reasons why the Commanders should be optimistic. Here are four causes for concern in Week 3.
The Bengals are winless
Cincinnati can’t afford to go 0-3 and believe it still has a chance to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Sure, it can happen, but the odds would be against the Bengals. Washington is heading into a Monday night game on the road against an angry and motivated Cincinnati team that feels it cannot lose.
This is a tough situation for the Commanders. The Bengals are the more talented team with a lot to lose. Washington has its work cut out on Monday night.
Tee Higgins is back
The Commanders have struggled to defend quality receivers. In Week 1, Washington had no answers for the Tampa Bay duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Last week, Giants’ rookie Malik Nabers had 18 targets and finished with 127 receiving yards.
This week, Washington faces off against Ja’Marr Chase, who will soon be the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver. Joining him will be Tee Higgins, who returns after missing the first two games. Higgins is playing on the franchise tag this season and is poised for a huge year heading into free agency.
The Bengals also have Andre Iosivas, who caught two touchdowns against the Chiefs last week. Washington’s secondary issues could be further exposed against Joe Burrow and Cincinnati’s elite wide receivers.
Washington’s passing game
There are multiple concerns here. First, the Commanders’ passing game hasn’t taken off but did show signs of life in the second half of last week’s win. When Jayden Daniels started throwing down the field instead of only on screens, Washington had more success in the passing game.
The Bengals held Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes to only 151 passing yards last week and intercepted him twice. For a passing game looking for success with a rookie quarterback, that’s concerning heading into Monday night.
Trey Hendrickson
The Bengals’ star doesn’t get the respect he deserves as one of the NFL’s best pass rushers. Hendrickson has recorded at least 13.5 sacks in three of the last four seasons and sacked Mahomes twice last week.
Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has purposely called an offense that will have Daniels get rid of the ball quickly due to concerns at offensive tackle. Kingsbury must find a balance here. Washington’s offensive tackles cannot block Hendrickson one-on-one all night, but the Commanders must also throw the ball downfield.
Regardless of the game plan, Washington can’t have Daniels sitting in the pocket taking too many hits.