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49ers vs Bengals – Week 2 Preview

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  • Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard (25) runs against San Francisco 49ers nose tackle Ian Williams (93) during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

The Cincinnati Bengals will be playing the San Francisco 49ers in their first home game of the year this Sunday, September 15th at 1:00pm EST on FOX.

For the 49ers, the story of their Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was their defense. The 49ers D forced 4 turnovers while sacking Jameis Winston 3 times. Three of the four turnovers were interceptions thrown by Winston and 2 of those interceptions were returned for touchdowns. 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo on the other hand went 18 of 27 for 166 yards passing with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

The 49ers running game was not very strong with Raheem Mostert rushing for 40 yards on 9 attempts and Matt Breida added 37 yards on the ground on 15 attempts. The 49ers are going to have to be more efficient if they want to win Sunday.

Even though the Bengals lost their first game in Week 1 they should be very confident given how they played the Seahawks this past Sunday. The Bengals offense looked good, even great at times but just could not get that score they needed in the second half despite being in Seattle territory 3 times in the 3rd quarter. The Bengals defense looked even better only allowing 233 total yards and getting 4 sacks of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. Andy Dalton was 35 of 51 for 418 yards and 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. The Bengals offense ranks 10th in the league after 1 week and their defense ranks 5th in the NFL heading into Week 2.

Just like the 49ers, the Bengals running game was not strong. Joe Mixon had 6 carries for only 10 yards before hurting his ankle last Sunday and Giovani Bernard had 7 carries for only 21 yards. The Bengals run game has to better and they must get their running backs more involved if they want to win on Sunday.

August Preview: The 2019 Cincinnati Bengals

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It is that time of year Bengals fans.

We are in August, the team has already started training camp and things are starting to roll as the first preseason game approaches on August 10th. There is a different vibe or feel in the air. With Marvin Lewis gone after 17 seasons, first year head coach Zac Taylor brings an unfamiliar feeling of hope and confidence.

For example, Taylor adding play clocks at practice is something that can help the Bengals with their past struggles related to time management. “Last year the level of accountability wasn’t there. This year it is,” says Jessie Bates, second year strong safety, to Jeremy Rauch of FOX 19.

But this year, this year just feels different. Sure, the Bengals lost first round pick Jonah Williams to a torn labrum and A.J. Green suffered an ankle injury from landing awkwardly on Dre Kirkpatrick at Welcome Stadium in Dayton last weekend. Bengals wide receivers, Damion Willis, Josh Malone, Auden Tate and Stanley Morgan seem to be stepping up at training camp. There has been a lot of buzz around UDFA receiver Damion Willis at camp so far. Morgan, an un-drafted free agent from Nebraska, has made several impressive catches. Auden Tate, who shined during the preseason last year, never really got many opportunities during the regular season in 2018. Hopefully this season he will get the chance he deserves.

The Bengals brought back star tight end Tyler Eifert on a one year deal after he suffered a nasty ankle injury against Atlanta last season. Keeping Eifert healthy will be a big factor as to how this season will go. With the offensive line being a weak point, Andy Dalton is gonna have to get the ball out quickly. Eifert is like a safety blanket for Dalton who he can always count on being open in between the hashes to get a nice chunk of yards.

Also, who can forget about Joe Mixon, who despite missing 2 games to a knee injury last injury, lead the AFC in rushing with 1,168 yards and 8 touchdowns while averaging 4.9 yards per carry with one of the worst offensive lines in the league. That is very impressive. You can expect Mixon to be even better this season in Zac Taylor’s new scheme. With Green being out for some time to begin the season, Mixon should be counted on to carry the load, even Giovani Bernard may have a bigger role under Taylor’s new offense.

Bengals Week 11 Preview – Cincinnati at Baltimore

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Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) at Baltimore Ravens (4-5)

Oh boy, do I really need to recap the Bengals week 10 game against the Saints? Do we all remember the 500 plus yards and 50 plus points the Saints put up on the Bengals? Or do I need to mention that the Saints punter wasn’t used once in the entire game? Or how the Bengals starters managed to only put up just seven points against the 31st ranked defense in the league? Do we all remember this? Good, because I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

This week the Bengals face another tough task. That is going into M&T Bank Stadium and facing a divisional rival, the Baltimore Ravens. Like the Bengals, the Ravens are also in the wild card playoff hunt and a win against the Bengals would give the Ravens matching records with Cincy. In order for the Bengals to keep their playoff hopes alive, they can only afford to lose two games max the rest of the year. And with games still left against the Chargers and Steelers, they cannot afford to lose this week. They will have to be sharp against a very good Baltimore defense.

Matchups to watch for…

Tyler Boyd vs. WR1 Coverage – I listed it last week and I will list it again this week. Marvin Lewis isn’t closing the door on A.J. Green playing this Sunday, but we all know that is a total smoke screen. We will not see A.J. Green Sunday, and that is that. Tyler Boyd MUST continue his breakout season against the Ravens top corners, Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Carr. The Ravens defensive backs have already publicly stated their plan to keep more eyes on Boyd. This could be his toughest game of the year.

Andy Dalton vs. The Ravens Secondary- The Baltimore Ravens secondary is good. They are averaging the 3rd fewest passing yard per game this year with an average of just 205 yards allowed through the air. Andy Dalton will have his hands full this weekend, especially with no A.J. Green. The last time the Bengals faced the Ravens Andy Dalton carved them up for 265 yards and 4 touchdowns, but that was with a healthy A.J. Green. Good Andy will have to be out in full force in order to get anything going against this stingy pass defense.

The Bengals Defense vs. A Backup Quarterback- The closer and closer we get to Sunday it becomes more and more evident that Joe Flacco isn’t starting. However, that doesn’t mean we are any closer to knowing who will start. The Ravens are keeping quiet, not telling us if Lamar Jackson or Robert Griffin III will get the start on Sunday. It is looking like it will be Griffen. Regardless of who gets the start the Bengals must take advantage of a backup getting the start.

My Prediction:The Bengals are one game removed from a blowout loss and have recorded three straight games where they given up 500+ yards on defense. I think the combination of a backup quarterback starting for the Ravens and Marvin Lewis taking over the defense, leads to the Bengals defense getting a little more on track. While the Bengals linebackers are all banged up, the rest of the defense should be able to step up. The Bengals seem to always have the Ravens number. It will take everything they have but I believe the Bengals escape with a win.

My Prediction: Bengals 27 Ravens 24

My Bengals Predictions on the year: 6-3

Be sure to follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF. Be sure to tweet me anything Bengals related, questions or comments!

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) at Baltimore Ravens (4-5)

Date/Time: November 17, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: M&T Bank Stadium

Uniforms: White Jersey

Last Matchup: 9/13/18 – Bengals 34 Ravens 23

Odds: Bengals, +4

Bengals Week 10 Preview – New Orleans vs Cincinnati

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New Orleans Saints (7-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

It wasn’t pretty but the Bengals got it done against Tampa Bay. The Bengals were gifted multiple turnovers from Jameis Winston before we almost saw Ryan Fitzpatrick come back and steal the game away. This weeks test will be even harder as the Bengals will likely be without start wide receiver A.J. Green. This Bengals team continues to be hit hard with injuries in the worst way and they will once again need to overcome adversity this weekend in The Jungle.

This week, coming off the bye, the Bengals get arguably their toughest matchup of the year. The New Orleans Saints gained even more momentum last weekend as they took down the undefeated Rams in the Superdome. The Saints boast an explosive offense, their weakness is their defense, which the Bengals will have to exploit if they are to have any shot at taking down this Saints team.

Matchups to watch for…

Tyler Boyd vs. WR1 Coverage – As I mentioned earlier, we likely will not see A.J. Green this week due to an injury he suffered against the Bucs. This means all eyes will be on Tyler Boyd to show what he can do as the team’s number one passing option. The Saints slot corner has struggled this year which is good for Boyd. The problem could be if Boyd lines up outside against the Saints top corner, Marshon Lattimore. Hopefully we see Tyler Boyd stay lined up inside this weekend.

The Bengals Secondary vs. Drew Brees – Drew Brees shows no signs of slowing down as he is now 39 years old. Brees just torched the Rams for 340 yards and four touchdowns, and will now look to do the same against the Bengals secondary. The Bengals back end will have their hands full with Michael Thomas this weekend who is coming off of a 200+ yard performance. As if guarding Thomas wouldn’t be hard enough, the Saints also have one of the league’s best pass catching backs in Alvin Kamara, and recently signed Dez Bryant (though recent reports are he sustained an injury in practice already).

The Bengals Linebackers vs. Alvin Kamara – Alvin Kamara is one of the league’s top backs and is deadly in open space. We have seen the Bengals linebackers struggle all year to stop the run and miss tackles in the open field. The Bengals have to show improvement or Kamara will run for numbers similar to what Kareem Hunt and Christian McCaffrey have done against the Bengals.

My Prediction: The Bengals entered their bye at 5-3, which is good, however they still have a lot of work to do. With a bad defense and missing key offensive pieces, the Bengals could be in for a long day. On the plus side we should see Billy Price, Gio Bernard, and John Ross back in the lineup. The Bengals are also wearing their orange jerseys on Sunday, in which they are undefeated in. It is also supposed to be cold, where we have seen Drew Brees struggle. Despite all of this I still think the Saints will escape with the win.

My Prediction: Bengals 27 Saints 38

My Bengals Predictions on the year: 5-3

Be sure to follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF, and come find me at the game as I will be in attendance this Sunday. Be sure to tweet me anything Bengals related, questions or comments!

Game: New Orleans Saints (7-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

Date/Time: November 11, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: Paul Brown Stadium

Uniforms: Orange Jersey with Black Pants

Last Matchup: 11/16/14 – Bengals 27 Buccaneers 10

Odds: Bengals, +5.5

Bengals Week 8 Preview – Tampa Bay vs Cincinnati

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)

It was another embarrassing primetime showing by Andy Dalton and the Bengals that drops them to 4-3 and second in the AFC North behind the Steelers. No one thought the Bengals would win this game, but did we think it would be close? Of course we did. The Steelers loss hurts less than this game because at least the Bengals were competitive in that game. The Sunday night performance perfectly sums up the repeated mockery we continue to get with Marvin Lewis. The season is not lost by any means, but the Bengals have to figure out a way to get back on track.

This week the Bengals play Tampa Bay. It’s another game that is supposed to be a shootout, which after last week, may not be a good thing for the Bengals. The Bengals looked flat on offense and only managed 10 points against one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Sounds similar to this week, where the Bucs have a very explosive offense, and a very bad defense. Bill Lazor must figure a way to get points on the board.

Matchups to watch for…

Dre Kirkpatrick vs. Mike Evans – News broke earlier this week that the corners for the Bengals will at least start the game shadowing. William Jackson gets Desean Jackson, which doesn’t scare me too much. However, Dre is shadowing Mike Evans. Dre has struggled at times this year but is still not having as bad of a season as many are making it out to be. All fans will be glued to this matchup to see how Dre handles going up against one of the best wideouts in the league.

The Bengals Defensive Line vs. The Bucs Offensive Line – I listed the Bengals defensive line as a key matchup last week and will continue to do so until they step it up and show us what they showed in the preseason. Last week they failed to get pressure on Mahomes and he picked apart the defense. Jameis Winston, with time, can do the same thing. However, we have seen Winston struggle under pressure and make bad throws. If the line can step it up and get pressure on Jameis, it could lead to key turnovers in this game.

Andy Dalton vs. The Bucs Secondary – The Bucs secondary is bad, maybe worse than the Chiefs. This could be a get right game for Andy Dalton and Bill Lazor. The offense has struggled in the last three weeks. This game could turn into a shootout quickly and Andy Dalton must perform and show fans why many have stuck with him this long. If he cannot perform against this team, it may start to raise some questions.

My Prediction: Two straight loses, this game is a must win for the Bengals season. They cannot afford to go into the bye at 4-4. On paper, the Bengals are the better team and if we see the Bengals from Weeks 1-4, Cincy will win this game and move to 5-3. However, if we see the Bengals from Weeks 5-7, I think it goes down to the wire and Cincy may even lose. I’m giving the Bengals the upper hand and trusting them. I think at home they get back on track and go into a much needed bye at 5-3.

My Prediction: Bengals 35 Buccaneers 31

My Bengals Predictions on the year: 4-3

Be sure to follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF, and be sure to tweet me anything Bengals related, questions or comments!

Game: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)

Date/Time: October 28, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: Paul Brown Stadium

Uniforms: Black Jersey with White Pants

Last Matchup: 11/30/14 – Bengals 14 Buccaneers 13

Odds: Bengals, -3.5