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The Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders look oddly familiar going into their Week 11 bout.
Both teams started hot at 5-2 and have since collapsed to the tune of an 0-2 mark. For the Bengals, it was losing to a bad New York Jets team, then getting blown out (41-16) by Cleveland. For the Raiders, it was losing to a bad New York Giants team, then getting blown out by Kansas City (41-14).
But the teams do find interesting ways to differ. The Bengals haven’t been able to get the offense going unless Ja’Marr Chase pops off, which he hasn’t in the team’s last two losses after a 201-yard showing. The offensive line has again been spotty too, with Hakeem Adeniji replacing second-rounder Jackson Carman at right guard.
Las Vegas, though, has fallen behind by double digits in the first half of five games, losing three. And like the trends that have come to define recent Raiders seasons, it looks like another full-blown collapse with no end in sight.
While the Bengals can exploit intermediate routes against a Cover 3 like Kansas City did last week, the strong Raiders pass-rush, led by Maxx Crosby and his elite 92.3 PFF grade, could exploit the Cincinnati line.
If there’s one big red flag for the Bengals, it’s the team’s terrible post-bye performance since 2012, which is a 2-7 record with losses of 36-10 and 49-13 after byes over the last two years. This is also a west coast trip and one of three non-1 p.m. ET kickoffs for the team all season, putting them in a tougher spot than usual.
If Bengals coaches continue to show a ho-hum ability to mix it up as defenses adapt to Chase and the defense continues to have odd gameplans on top of those bye-week blues, it’s easy to see a stumble.
Prediction: Raiders 27, Bengals 23
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