Tag: Bengals

5 Bengals players to watch in Week 11 vs. Chargers

Despite their under-.500 record, the Bengals are still littered with talent all over the field, particularly on offense.

It’s been a difficult season for the Cincinnati Bengals, who sit at 4-6 after another heartbreaking loss in Week 10. Don’t let the record fool you though, this is still a dangerous football team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

It may be the biggest challenge of the year for Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Another loss and the Bengals may lose any hope of sneaking into the postseason. Here are some players from the Bengals that the Chargers must keep an eye on this upcoming weekend:

WR Ja’Marr Chase

Let’s start with the best player on the field. Chase is one of the best wideouts in all of football, and he’s been exceptional in 2024. Heading into Week 11, he leads the NFL in catches (66), receiving yards (981), and receiving touchdowns (10). While the team’s record isn’t what they expected it to be, Chase has been nothing short of phenomenal.

TE Mike Gesicki

Gesicki has turned into an underrated signing for Cincinnati. In 10 contests, his 383 receiving yards ranks eighth amongst tight ends. With Tee Higgins out due to injury recently, Gesicki has turned into a nice secondary option in the passing game. The former Penn State product is second on the team in receiving yards behind Chase. He has 16 catches, 203 receiving yards, and two touchdowns over the last three games.

OT Orlando Brown

Brown signed a massive $64 million deal back in 2023, and it’s come with mixed results thus far. He’s been solid for the Bengals, but not quite worth that kind of money. The trenches will be a deciding factor in this weekend’s game, and that starts with Brown against the Chargers’ stellar pass rushers. Los Angeles tied for fourth in the NFL in sacks (31), so this will be a huge matchup to watch.

EDGE Trey Hendrickson

Hendrickson continues to fly under the radar around the NFL. He’s been a monster this season, as he leads the league in sacks (11.0) and is a frontrunner for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Hendrickson has added in 28 total tackles, three pass deflections, and a forced fumble. The Chargers have two legitimate offensive tackles, but they will be put to the test against this front.

CB Mike Hilton

Hilton is one of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL, and he’s proved that again in 2024. His matchup against Ladd McConkey will be a deciding factor in this AFC matchup. Hilton always plays a physical brand of football and is known for being an exceptional blitzer as well.

Key things to know about Chargers’ Week 11 opponent: Bengals

Here are some important things to know about the Bengals ahead of the Week 11 matchup with the Chargers.

The Chargers are at home to face the Bengals in primetime on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 5:20 p.m. PT.

To get you prepped for the Week 11 bout, here are five key things to know about Los Angeles’ opponent ahead of the matchup.

How things are going…

The Bengals are 4-6 on the season. Cincinnati has one-point losses to the Chiefs and Ravens.

Prolific passing attack

Jesse Minter will have his work cut out against Joe Burrow and company. The Bengals rank fourth in passing offense, averaging 254.8 yards per game. Burrow leads in the NFL with 2,672 yards and 24 touchdowns. He’s only thrown four interceptions.

Brace for Chase

Burrow’s top target, Ja’Marr Chase, has been a terror to opposing defenses. Chase leads the league in receptions (66), receiving yards (981) and touchdowns (10).

Rough rushing offense

The Bengals have had success through the air, but the same can’t be said about their ground game. Cincinnati is 29th in rushing yards per game (89.7). Chase Brown is the team’s lead back. They acquired Khalil Herbert last week from the Bears after Zack Moss sustained a season-ending neck injury.

Dreadful defense

The Bengals have been able to score points, but they’ve struggled to prevent them, as they’ve allowed 26.2 PPG (26th). Cincinnati ranks 23rd and 17th in pass and rush defense, respectively. However, their issues have been in critical situations. The team ranks 31st in red zone percentage (71.88%) and 29th in third-down conversion percentage (45.80%).

Look out for…

Chase. This will be the biggest test for the Chargers’ cornerbacks this season. He’s capable of taking over a game with his big-play ability.

Bengals hosting veteran RB Leonard Fournette for a workout

The Cincinnati Bengals are hosting veteran running back Leonard Fournette for a workout, according to Tom Pelissero, as the team is still looking for more help in the backfield and could add the 29-year-old to the practice squad. The Bengals went …

The Cincinnati Bengals are hosting veteran running back Leonard Fournette for a workout, according to Tom Pelissero, as the team is still looking for more help in the backfield and could add the 29-year-old to the practice squad.

The Bengals went out at the trade deadline and added Khalil Herbert after Zack Moss was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury, but Fournette could soon be another option behind Chase Brown.

Fournette, a former No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 draft, has been in the league for seven seasons, but only played in two games last year with the Buffalo Bills, rushing for 40 yards on 12 attempts. With the Jaguars and Buccaneers for six seasons, Fournette played in 79 games and ran for 4,478 yards and 34 touchdowns while catching 312 passes for 2,219 yards and seven touchdowns through the air.

Without much depth at running back right now, the Bengals could be hoping that Fournette would provide some more at a position where they are 29th in the league in rushing yards with just 89.7 per game.

Bengals hosting CB Xavien Howard for a visit

The Bengals break the mold and go for a big name.

The Cincinnati Bengals are hosting veteran cornerback Xavien Howard for a visit today, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Howard played eight years with the Miami Dolphins and made the Pro Bowl four times but he hasn’t been able to find a home during the 2024 season to this point after being cut by the Dolphins in the spring.

The Bengals’ defense has been towards the bottom of the league this season and has been part of a 4-6 record they hold through 10 games, which is 3.5 games back in the AFC North. With two big games coming up against the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati might be feeling the pressure of a possible playoff spot slipping away for the second straight season.

There is a connection between the Bengals and Howard. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo was Howard’s defensive backs coach with the Dolphins from 2012-17 when the corner was at his best.

Howard has played 100 games in his career with 95 passes defended and 29 interceptions and at 30 years old, the Bengals might be hoping that he could provide a spark to their unit.

Former LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase has career night in loss to Ravens

Former LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase put up massive numbers on Thursday night

Former LSU receiver [autotag]Ja’Marr Chase[/autotag] went off in the Bengals’ Thursday night loss to the Ravens.

The fourth-year receiver caught 11 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns. It was the second-highest yardage total of Chase’s career, falling just short of the 266 he posted against Kansas City as a rookie. It was Chase’s third time notching three scores as a pro.

Despite the effort and the elite performance from fellow LSU product Joe Burrow, it wasn’t enough for the Bengals to get the win. After cutting the lead to one in the final seconds, the Bengals opted to go for two and try and win it in regulation. The Ravens got a stop and that was that.

On the year, Chase has 66 catches for 981 yards and 10 scores.

Burrow and Chase are both having career years, yet Cincinnati is unable to capitalize on their star’s success.

Chase totaled 457 yards in his two games against the Ravens this year — both were losses.

Playoff hopes aren’t quite dead for the Bengals and with Burrow playing at the level he is, you can’t rule it out. It will be an uphill battle to get there, though.

Ravens injury report for Week 10: Updates on Lamar Jackson, Keaton Mitchell

The Baltimore Ravens have ruled out ISaiah Likely and Keaton Mitchell for the Thursday night game against the Cicinnati Bengals

The Ravens released their final injury report for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime, and Lamar Jackson has no injury designation after missing a practice.

Baltimore ruled out Isiah Likely (hamstring) and Brent Urban (concussion), while Jalyn Armour-Davis is doubtful for the AFC North contest.

Running back Keaton Mitchell (knee) and Rasheen Ali (ankle) are questionable and will be decided at game time.

For Mitchell to play, Baltimore must activate him off the PUP list tomorrow.

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Steelers add massive NT from Bengals

The Steelers got some help at defensive tackle with the addition of Domenique Davis.

Lost in the pair of trades the Pittsburgh Steelers made on Tuesday was the sneaky addition of defensive tackle Domenique Davis to the team’s practice squad.

Davis is a 6-foot-2, 326-pound defensive tackle from Division II UNC-Pembroke. The addition makes sense for a Steelers team with only five defensive linemen currently on the roster. Pittsburgh recently placed backup nose tackle Montravius Adams on IR leaving them without a backup and leaving the Steelers exposed in their run defense.

No one is saying Davis is going to suddenly resurrect his career with Pittsurgh but his body type fits what the Steelers are looking for and he should have ample opportunity to earn reps.

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Chargers vs. Bengals flexed into Sunday Night Football

The Chargers will have three primetime games in a span of four weeks.

The Chargers will be playing in primetime in Week 11.

The NFL announced that Los Angeles’ matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Nov. 17, will now be Sunday Night Football on NBC. The game will kick off at 5:20 pm PT.

Originally, L.A. and Cincinnati were scheduled to play at 1:25 pm, with the game set to be televised on CBS. Now, it replaces the contest between the Jets and Colts.

With the Chargers slated for Sunday night, they will play three primetime games in four weeks, with the other two being against the Ravens (Monday night in Week 12) and the Chiefs (Sunday night in Week 14).

The last time the Bolts and Bengals met was in 2021. Los Angeles won, 41-22.

Bengals’ turnaround to contention isn’t happening this year, says NFL analyst

For one analyst, there’s zero chance the usual Bengals rebound happens.

After the Cincinnati Bengals Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport had takeaways from every game played for each team.

After the Bengals fell 37-17, Davenport concluded that their slow start would be too much for them to overcome to be back in the mix for Super Bowl contention this season, citing issues with the defense and the run game as the best evidence for that.

Here’s some of what Davenport wrote:

Cincinnati still has time to make a postseason push, but no one should expect the Bengals to be in the Super Bowl mix this year. They still have yet to play well on both sides of the ball in the same game, and while Burrow is healthy, even he can’t overcome the many flaws the Bengals possess.

Now, sitting with a 3-5 record and three games behind the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers, it is going to be a big uphill climb for the Bengals, but it’s something they have done before, after starting slow multiple times.

There are still nine games to go on the schedule for Cincinnati, so the second half of the season could end up being a completely different story, and NFL experts could be kicking themselves later down the road for doubting what this team could do. But the Bengals have certainly put themselves in a tough spot.

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Bengals rookie’s willingness to get violent sets him apart

A Bengals rookie breakout continues to do the little things that matter.

The Cincinnati Bengals addressed the tight end room in multiple ways over the offseason, most notably signing Mike Gesicki and drafting Erick All with their fourth-round selection.

And so far, All has already been showing that he was worth that draft capital in multiple ways in his rookie season. His blocking ability has been noticed by his new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, who commented on it early in October.

“I’ll say this. Maybe it goes beyond willing and turns into eager — an eagerness to be violent,” Pitcher said. “That’s probably a better descriptor.”

That is one way he has been earning himself playing time, but he has also shown off his ability to be a pass catcher in his rookie campaign.

He has brought in 18 catches for 134 yards with no scores yet. He has three games this season with four catches, coming in three straight weeks.

All is proving to be one of few tight ends who can successfully block and catch at an above-average level for his position, and those could only get better with more experience at the next level.

While his rookie season isn’t likely going exactly as he planned at the team level to this point, All is providing some great early returns for the Bengals on the field and has been a bright spot.

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