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Most experts pick Bengals to take another loss vs. Dolphins

Here’s how NFL pick experts feel about Bengals vs. Dolphins.

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NFL picks experts aren’t a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals, even against a three-win Miami Dolphins team.

Those experts have sided with the Dolphins 83 percent of the time leading up to Sunday’s game, based on the numbers tracked at NFL Pick Watch.

The Bengals probably won’t complain.

Failing to pick up win No. 2 on the season might hurt. But it would also mean wrapping up the top pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

For now, Sunday’s game feels more like a showcase for players in need of big performances to be part of the team’s future. Think guys like Billy Price and Andy Dalton, for starters.

Even then, it’s a little weird to see so many experts go against the Bengals. The Dolphins have Ryan Fitzpatrick under center and permit more than 30 points per game.

These Bengals have won just a single game all season though and the crossed-fingers hope for an A.J. Green return is over, meaning an offense that has scored more than 19 points in a game once over six games since the Week 9 bye could continue to seem lost.

Winning over the long-term via losing isn’t the most enjoyable thing, but it’s understandable if Bengals fans aren’t too upset with the experts over this one.

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Germaine Pratt continues to show notable improvement for Bengals

Germaine Pratt is on the rise for the Bengals.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are starting to see the return on rookie linebacker Germaine Pratt.

The third-round rookie was thrown to the wolves this year and the growing pains were initially apparent. They still are in some ways, but Bengals coaches like the growth they’ve seen as the season comes to a close.

Here’s what head coach Zac Taylor told the media:

“Continued improvement. And there needs to be continued improvement. I feel like I sit here and say it every week, but with our young players, there is the good and the bad every week that they need to improve on. We see a lot of the qualities that we thought we were going to get when we took him. It’s good that he’s been getting to play a ton of snaps in the last half of the season. He has to continue to correct the mistakes. There’s a lot to grow on, but there are certainly a lot of positives that we’re excited about.”

The numbers — especially since the team cut Preston Brown — have started to ascend:

In addition to this, Pratt just had his best tackling game as a pro, registering seven solo and 10 total against New England while playing a carer-high 75 percent of the snaps.

Pratt still has some problems in coverage (16 completions on 19 targets). But for the former safety, that area figures to come around in time.

For now, the Bengals will take this rate of return. Pratt is a big part of the plan at a unit in need of overhaul, so these next two weeks are particularly important.

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Titans S Kenny Vaccaro pushing WR AJ Brown to match Michael Thomas’ level vs. Saints

Expect a big game from both players when the two teams face each other at 12 pm CST on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.

The Tennessee Titans face arguably the NFL’s best wide receiver in Michael Thomas against the New Orleans Saints this week.

But Tennessee has its own rising star at WR1, and AJ Brown’s teammates are pushing him to have a big game against the Saints on Sunday.

To be more specific — former Saint and current Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro.

“Kenny always reminds me,” Brown said in a report by AtoZ Sports Nashville. “He’s like, ‘Michael Thomas is working right now. He’s working.’ So, in between periods, he’s telling me ‘Go do something.’ He was telling me that Michael Thomas came in his rookie year demanding the ball, this and that. He tells me just keep working at it and just keep building that confidence in yourself.”

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The Titans’ defense is going to need to know where Thomas is at all times, and Vaccaro knows that all too well having shared a sideline with him.

“Mike wants to be the best player that’s ever put on the shoes,” he said. “You don’t see the behind the team stuff. You see the incredible catches, the flexes, but I knew Day One, the way he practiced, the way he walked around, he wanted to be that. I told A.J. Brown, I saw that Michael Thomas’s rookie year. Every day catching balls, working on timing with Drew, every single day, an hour after practice.”

Thomas has had a monumental year, leading the league in catches and yards with 133 receptions for 1,552 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Brown has also been a force for the Titans, and totals 47 receptions for 893 yards and seven touchdowns.

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He had another strong performance in last week’s 24-21 loss to the Houston Texans, posting eight receptions for 114 yards and one touchdown.

Expect a big game from both players when the two teams face each other at 12 pm CST on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.

Saints run defense vs. Derrick Henry a matchup to watch Sunday

The Titans have some offensive weapons of their own who could give the Saints defense some issues.

Getting a win against the New Orleans Saints (11-3) with Drew Brees at quarterback and Michael Thomas at wide receiver will be no simple task for the Tennessee Titans (8-6).

But the Titans have some offensive weapons of their own who could give the Saints defense some issues.

One of these is running back Derrick Henry, who has carried the ball 271 times for 1,329 yards with 13 touchdowns this season.

He’s also factored into the passing game at times, totaling 18 receptions for 206 yards and two touchdowns in 2019.

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The 6-foot-3, 247-pounder presents a larger challenge than practically any other rusher the Saints have faced or will face this season, and if he’s able to get to the secondary multiple times, the Titans offense could quickly snag some momentum.

To plug the gaps, the Saints will rely mainly on linebacker Demario Davis, who was snubbed from the 2020 Pro Bowl.

In 2019, Davis totals 98 tackles, three sacks and an interception.

Limiting Henry means practically bringing the Titans’ ground game to a halt, and it will be interesting to see if the Saints are up to the task when the two teams face each other at 12 p.m. CST on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.

Titans face big challenge vs. Saints WR Michael Thomas

The Tennessee Titans secondary has its work cut out this week, especially without cornerback Adoree Jackson.

The Tennessee Titans secondary has its work cut out this week, especially without cornerback Adoree Jackson.

The team faces the visiting New Orleans Saints on Sunday, with an offense led by quarterback Drew Brees and also with Michael Thomas in its receiving corps.

Thomas, arguably the league’s top wideout, has the chance to make history against the Titans.

He’s reeled in 133 receptions this season, just 11 catches away from breaking former Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison’s single-season record.

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He totals 1,552 receiving yards and eight touchdowns as a leader on the New Orleans offense.

Tennessee’s pass defense ranks 25th overall in the league, and if Brees and Thomas get some chemistry going early on, things could quickly get ugly for the Titans.

Defensive coordinator Dean Pees knows the defense can’t lose him the way they did with DeAndre Hopkins on multiple occasions in last week’s 24-21 loss to the Houston Texans.

“Last week it was (Hopkins),” Pees told reporters. “We did a great job through three quarters – I think he had two catches for 15 yards – and then we just, for whatever reason, in the fourth quarter we lost him twice. … We just can’t allow that with (Thomas).”

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The Titans and Saints are set to kick off at 12 p.m. CST on Sunday in Nissan Stadium.

Joe Mixon wants his offensive line to get the shine from this special stat

Mixon wants to make sure his teammates get their shine.

How special is Joe Mixon’s season?

All of just 75 yards stands between Mixon becoming the fifth Cincinnati Bengals running back to record back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns.

And as seen in the tweet above, Mixon wants to make sure his offensive line gets credit too.

Mixon sure isn’t off base here. Some changes in approach up front and the continued rising play of the offensive line has played a big role in his resurgence, including his 146 yards and a score against Cleveland and his 136 against New England.

Little is likely to change the team’s approach to roster changes this offseason in the trenches. But when he likely hits 1,000 yards over the weekend against Miami, look for him to find his blockers up front before he celebrates.

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The top overall pick and biggest Bengals vs. Dolphins pregame storylines

Here are the top storylines for Bengals vs. Dolphins Week 16.

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The biggest storyline of all hanging over Sunday’s encounter between the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins is obvious — draft implications.

That’s an impossible-to-ignore facet of the equation here, yet far from the only one.

Here’s a look at the top storylines before these two hit the field in Miami on Sunday.

 

Struggling QB staring contest: The cliche “something has to give” applies here. Both the Bengals and Dolphins have suffered from horrendous quarterback play all year. Andy Dalton was so underwhelming in a new system the new coach benched him for three games. As a whole, he’s completed less than 60 percent of his passes this year with more picks than touchdowns. He’s air-mailed pick-sixes in back-to-back games, both losses. Ryan Fitzpatrick for the Dolphins hasn’t been much better. When he hasn’t lost snaps to Josh Rosen, the veteran has completed just 61.6 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions playing behind a line that has allowed 50-plus sacks. Which quarterback blinks first — meaning makes the critical mistake — could end up deciding which struggling team gets another notch in the loss column.

Which defense plays respectable ball? The Bengals have been bad on defense for most of the year, though admittedly, besides the blowout at the hands of the Patriots, things have been better thanks to a rejuvenated pass rush. Since the cutting of Preston Brown, the linebackers have played better too. But even this hasn’t been enough to compensate for a nonexistent offense. Rest assured the Dolphins haven’t been much better in any regard, ranking among the worst teams in the league against the rush and coughing up 31.1 points per game, the worst mark in the league. Four of Miami’s last five opponents have managed at least 31 points.

All things draft: The Bengals clinch the top overall pick in 2020 with a win. The end. There isn’t a two-win team in the NFL that can hurt the 1-13 Bengals. They complicate matters greatly with a win though, as that helps these Dolphins stick as one or four three-win teams. Granted, the Dolphins aren’t exactly hurting for draft capital after selling away so many assets as of late. But that’s another thing to consider — if the Bengals play their way out of the top pick over the next two weeks, they might not be able to trade up to No. 1 if necessary and it could also leave them open to getting leapfrogged by another trading team. Nobody wants to lose, but it’s hard to ignore this hanging over the contest from a Cincinnati perspective.

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Joe Mixon cleared on final injury report for Bengals vs. Dolphins

Here’s the final Bengals vs. Dolphins injury report.

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Joe Mixon’s stay on the injury report was brief.

The injury report issued by the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins lists just two players as out. Every other name on the list, including Mixon, went full in practice to end the week.

Those names slotted as out are A.J. Green and right guard John Miller. Green sounds like he’s on his way to injured reserve next week after ruling himself out, which would enable the team to stash another player for the offseason.

Miller suffered a concussion last week and hasn’t made it back, so 2018 first-round pick Billy Price will get a nod at right guard for the first time.

As for the Dolphins, they list five players as questionable but aren’t expected to miss anyone notable for the showdown between teams with a combined four wins this year.

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Ravens vs. Browns: Who’s playing and who isn’t

The Baltimore Ravens should have every player available for Week 16 against the Browns, with Ronnie Stanley and Chris Board “questionable”

The Baltimore Ravens are headed into their Week 16 rematch with the Cleveland Browns as healthy as they can possibly be.

After giving some key veterans days off on Wednesday and Thursday, Friday’s injury report saw no one miss practice or even be limited. In turn, only left tackle Ronnie Stanley and linebacker Chris Board are “questionable” for this game, though both should play after getting cleared from the concussion protocol earlier in the week.

Take a look at the final injury report as well as the game statuses for both the Ravens and Browns in Week 16.

Baltimore Ravens injuries:

Player Position Injury Wed Thur Fri Game status
Mark Ingram RB NIR DNP FP FP –
Jimmy Smith CB NIR DNP FP FP –
Earl Thomas S NIR DNP FP FP –
Marshal Yanda G NIR DNP FP FP –
Chris Board LB Concussion FP FP FP Questionable
Ronnie Stanley T Concussion FP FP FP Questionable
Brandon Williams DT NIR – DNP FP –

Cleveland Browns injuries:

Player Position Injury Wed Thur Fri Game status
Kendall Lamm T Knee DNP LP LP Questionable
Sheldon Richardson DT Back DNP DNP LP Questionable
JC Tretter C Knee DNP DNP LP Questionable
Odell Beckham Jr. WR Groin LP LP LP –
Tae Davis LB Knee LP LP FP –
Dontrell Hilliard RB Neck LP LP LP Questionable
Chris Hubbard T Knee LP LP LP –
Jarvis Landry WR Hip LP LP FP –
Eric Murray S Knee LP LP FP Questionable
Olivier Vernon DE Knee LP LP LP Questionable
Denzel Ward CB Ankle LP LP FP –
Porter Gustin DE Neck FP FP FP –

Key:

DNP – Did not participate
LP – Limited participation (anything below 100%)
FP – Full participation
NIR – Non-injury related

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Look: Joe Mixon got his signed Tom Brady jersey

Tom Brady sent Joe Mixon his jersey.

Joe Mixon finally has his Tom Brady jersey.

The Cincinnati Bengals star running back — deemed perhaps the best in the league by Bill Belichick — mused after a game against the New England Patriots that he was too scared to ask Brady for his jersey.

Brady saw that message and sent him one.

“I feel the same way about so many of these young players that inspire me,” Brady said on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “That guy is one of the great running backs in the league. There was a time when I was a young player and I looked up to so many guys. I think now that I’m on the other end of it, I understand kind of how it goes. You see these guys playing on TV, then you meet them, it’s surreal.”

As if this all weren’t heartwarming enough, Mixon notes in the tweet above he’s paying it forward by giving out his jersey, too.

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