New York Jets Archives - Bengals-Talk

5 Reasons the Cincinnati Bengals WILL Make the Playoffs

November 6, 2016 Chris Russell 4 Comments

You read the headline right – the Cincinnati Bengals are going to the playoffs. We’re sure of that. You may be wondering how it’s possible. After all, aren’t they 3-4-1 with a referee-funded loss to hated divisional rival Pittsburgh? Yes, and heck yes. But dig deeper into those numbers and you’ll see why this team is in prime position to play more than 16 games. We know they can do it. In fact, we know they will do it. And here are our 5 reasons to back that up.

Cincinnati Bengals Will Make the Postseason for These 5 Reasons

1. The second half of the schedule is easier. The Cincinnati Bengals have played 4 teams this season who either lead their division or are tied for the lead. They play 2 the rest of the year (of those who are leading their divisions now). One will be a rematch against the Steelers in Cincinnati. Their remaining opponents are a combined 27-32. Murderer’s Row, this ain’t.

2. Tyler Eifert is back. Even though Andy Dalton and company have been solid, the Cincinnati Bengals have missed Pro-Bowler Eifert (and his 6’6 frame) over the middle. Because he’s a big target, he creates big matchup problems for opposing defenses. Defenses that are also trying to cover A.J. Green.

3. The running game is hitting its stride. The Bengals have rushed for 962 yards this year, good for fifth in the league. That’s reason enough to be excited – but that isn’t even the strength of the offense! Plus, that total includes games against the Steelers (12th-ranked rushing defense in the NFL), Dallas Cowboys (7th) and New York Jets (4th).

4. They’re only a half-game out of first in the AFC North. Cincinnati has some bad losses this year. But it’s not like they are a mile away from the playoffs, like some other Ohio-based pro football team we know. They’re in a good spot. And considering their remaining opponents have a winning percentage of .457, they are in a great spot.

5. They have 4 division games left. That’s huge because of point #4. Furthermore, any win in those games is doubly good for Cincinnati and doubly bad for their opponents. Beat Pittsburgh and they lose the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage. Sweep the Baltimore Ravens and you have one less team to contend with for a wild-card berth. Sounds good to us.

Week 4: Cincinnati Bengals vs Miami Dolphins – 4 Things to Watch

September 29, 2016 Chris Russell 1 Comment

The Cincinnati Bengals are back on their own turf in Week 4, playing the 1-2 Miami Dolphins. It looks like a favorable matchup for the Bengals for a few reasons.

For one, Miami will be thin at outside linebacker with Koa Misi (neck) ruled out and Jelani Jenkins (groin) doubtful. Fewer LBs mean more snaps for the backups, who could be gassed by the fourth quarter. That brings a smile to our face. Let’s hope it also plays a part in bringing a W to our win column.

So without further ado, here are 4 things to watch for in the Cincinnati Bengals-Miami Dolphins Thursday night game.

1. Burfict is back. The heart of the Bengals D returns in LB Vontaze Burfict. He’s served his 3-game suspension for violating player safety rules, and now he’s ready to make the middle of the field unsafe for anyone wearing a fish (sorry, mammal) on the side of their helmet. It remains to be seen how many snaps he’ll play and what kind of impact he’ll make, but our hopes are “lots” and “big”.

2. Will Tyler Eifert play? He hasn’t appeared so far this year and is listed as doubtful for this game (though he could see a few snaps). But Cincinnati Bengals fans can’t wait for his 6’6″, 251-pound frame to be used in the red zone.

3. Balance is needed on offense. QB Andy Dalton lit up the Jets and Steelers with 366 yards each while the running game struggled. On Sunday against the Broncos, Dalton barely cracked the 200-yard mark, but running back Jeremy Hill scored twice. It’s time to put it all together.

4. Matchups, matchups, matchups. We’ll have some good ones. Our favorite is Cincinnati Bengals DT Geno Atkins against Miami 3rd-string center Kraig Urbik. Our less-than favorite is Dolphins DTs Ndamukong Suh and Jordan Phillips vs the Bengals interior of Bodine, Zeitler and Boling. The more we look at that sentence, the less we want to think about it.

Week 3: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Denver Broncos – 4 Takeaways

September 27, 2016 Chris Russell Leave a Comment

The Cincinnati Bengals came up short against the Denver Broncos on Sunday, 29-17. They are 1-2 with a loss to their most hated divisional rival. It’s not exactly the position we’d hoped for heading into a Week 4 matchup with the Miami Dolphins. But there are still bits of good news that we’ve seen in this first part of the season. And bits of bad news. And bits that are uglier than the thought of either Trump or Hillary running the country. We’ll get to ’em all!

Here are our takeaways from the Week 3 matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Good

CB Dre Kirkpatrick and DE Margus Hunt are playing well. Through 3 games, Kirkpatrick has intercepted a pass and defended 3 others. Hunt set the tone for himself in Week 1 when he blocked a huge field goal against the Jets. He has since blocked another kick, defended 2 passes, and generally started to make a nuisance of himself to opposing offenses.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bad

The offensive line isn’t stepping up. The Cincinnati Bengals are ranked 26th in the NFL in rushing, averaging only 82.3 yards per game. They allowed 7 sacks on QB Andy Dalton against New York. Center Russell Bodine has struggled. OT Cedric Ogbuehi is going through some growing pains in his first season as a starter (although he’s showing promise). And since he’s in a contract year, it wouldn’t hurt guard Kevin Zeitler to show more consistency.

The offseason offensive departures have hurt. Take this one with a grain of salt if you will. The Bengals have the 7th best passing attack in the league. How could they not, with a 5-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and a quarterback who changes his clothes in a phone booth? But imagine how unstoppable it could be if they still had 2nd and 3rd receivers Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, along with offensive coordinator-turned-Cleveland-head-coach Hue Jackson.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Ugly

Referees. We hate them. In case you’re just tuning in to this blog, find out why by checking out our recaps of what happened against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos.

Week 1: Bengals vs Jets – 3 Takeaways

September 12, 2016 Chris Russell Leave a Comment

The Bengals’ 23-22 win against the New York Jets this weekend was one of the more entertaining games, which is really saying something when you consider that 10 Sunday contests were decided by a touchdown or less. But the excitement level wasn’t the only thing that stood out. Here are our 3 takeaway from the Bengals vs Jets game:

1. It was easy being Green. A.J. Green could build a mansion on Revis Island, seeing as how he owned the place on Sunday. With 12 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown, mostly against a seven-time Pro-Bowler, Green is without a doubt one of the best receivers in the league.

2. O-Line? More like woe line. It took 12 games for the Bengals to give up 20 sacks last year. It took Sunday to give up 7. The team also only rushed for 57 yards. Center Russell Bodine struggled, but he’s just one part of this larger concern. Andy Dalton can’t take that kind of a beating 15 more times.

3. Dalton’s assault. Even though the New York pass rush was thicker than rush-hour traffic on the Belt Parkway, Dalton performed like … well, Andy Dalton. He picked up right where he left off from a fantastic 2015 campaign with a 23-of-30, 366-yard performance. If he can stay upright this year, look out.

Cincinnati Bengals vs New York Jets – Week 1 Recap

September 11, 2016 Chris Russell 2 Comments

Kicker Mike Nugent drilled a 47-yard field goal with less than a minute left to get Cincinnati’s season started off right. The kick accounted for the final points of the Bengals’ 23-22 win over the New York Jets. The Bengals have now won their past 3 season openers, and it’s a big first step for the team toward another trend of theirs: Making the playoffs.

Andy Dalton earned his paycheck today. The sixth-year veteran threw the football for 366 yards and a touchdown, but he himself was thrown around all day by the Jets’ D (7 sacks). He may not need ibuprofen for the pain, though, as AJ Green’s stats (12 catches, 180 yards, 1 TD – much of that against Pro Bowler Darrelle Revis) should help him feel better.

In our last article, one of the battles we said to keep an eye on was the Bengals’ running attack versus the Jets’ stout rushing defense. The number should not surprise anyone –Cincinnati’s ground game eked out just 57 yards, and starter Jeremy Hill only mustered 31 of them.

Despite having an almost 9-minute edge in time of possession, the Jets were outgained 381-340. It didn’t help that they committed 7 penalties for 95 yards, and it REALLY didn’t help that Cincinnati defensive end Margus Hunt showed up like he did, defending 2 passes and blocking a field goal in the first quarter. The Jets’ kicking game suffered another why-did-this-happen-now moment when Nick Folk broke his streak of 312 PATs with a wide-right attempt after WR Eric Decker‘s second-quarter touchdown catch.

It was the first win for the Bengals in their last 10 tries in New Jersey. Next up: a visit to Pittsburgh on September 18.