Against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals face a critical turning point for the franchise.
At first, that might sound a little silly to say about a 3-5 team. But it’s not nearly as simple as a game between two teams with a combined five wins.
Based on a new report, the Bengals are looking to be buyers at Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline in the hopes of upgrading positions of need before making a playoff push.
But as we and plenty of fans have argued, a loss to the Raiders should probably mean they act as sellers at the deadline.
The Bengals remain in the playoff race in an AFC with half the conference sporting three or fewer wins, hence the team wanting to keep pushing. And a game against a rebuilding, 2-6 Raiders team with a minus-66 point differential is certainly winnable.
Those Raiders start Gardner Minshew under center, who has six touchdowns and eight interceptions this year. Lead back Alexander Mattison just rushed for 15 yards on 14 carries last week. The real threat is rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who looks on pace to be one of the NFL’s best with ease. And on the defensive side of the ball, Maxx Crosby is a T.J. Watt-like presence who will give the Bengals problems.
And the Bengals have problems of their own, too. Tee Higgins isn’t going to play, leaving Ja’Marr Chase to do all the heavy lifting again. Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. won’t be able to go, leaving Cody Ford against Crosby.
Despite this, provided Bengals coaches can draw up a proper game plan that eliminates the threat of Crosby, Cincinnati should feel pretty good entering this one. Joe Burrow is playing great ball and the defense, provided it can collapse on Bowers quickly, should have an easier assignment than usual.
The Bengals sort of luck out in the timing of this matchup. Unless there’s a complete, unforeseen implosion in the effort department, this should be a win, which should make the trade deadline more interesting than usual, too.
Prediction: Bengals 27, Raiders 17
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