The Cincinnati Bengals head home to Paycor Stadium to face Tennessee this week at 4-2 and in the thick of the AFC North race, but Athlon Sports argued in its Oct. 28 analysis that Cincinnati cannot afford another slow start like the one it survived in Baltimore. The Bengals ripped off 35 unanswered second-half points to bury the Ravens, with Joe Burrow throwing four touchdowns and finishing with a 158.3 passer rating, according to Athlon Sports.
The first half in Baltimore was the problem Athlon Sports identified. Cincinnati managed just 59 yards on 19 plays before halftime, Burrow completed only six passes for 43 yards, and the Bengals fell behind 13-0, according to Athlon Sports’ reporting. It took a halftime earful from Ja’Marr Chase and a switch to a no-huddle, shotgun approach that produced five straight touchdown drives to flip the game, Athlon Sports reported.
The fix, in Athlon Sports’ analysis, is winning on early downs so Burrow is not left in obvious passing situations against two-high safeties. Athlon Sports credited running back Chase Brown’s tough yards with loosening Baltimore’s coverage in the second half, opening the field for Tee Higgins’ 148-yard second half and for Chase’s 30-yard score.
The task gets harder with a thinned tight end room. A week after losing Tanner Hudson to a torn pectoral muscle, Erick All Jr. hurt his right knee again after catching three key passes against Baltimore and was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday, according to Athlon Sports. That removes Cincinnati’s most reliable blocking tight end, and Athlon Sports reported head coach Zac Taylor is likely to lean on rookie Jack Endries and Cam Grandy, who was brought back off Minnesota’s practice squad.
Up front, Athlon Sports noted right tackle Amarius Mims did not allow a single pressure on 34 dropbacks in Baltimore and holds the league’s lowest pressure rate at 3.4 percent. Even so, Athlon Sports warned against leaving the line and backup tight ends isolated against Tennessee defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and the Titans’ front on third-and-long.
Tennessee’s offense may not scare anyone right now, in Athlon Sports’ assessment, but its defensive front does, and a first half of stalled early downs could turn Sunday into a long afternoon at Paycor Stadium. For Cincinnati, proving the Baltimore comeback was the start of a run rather than a lucky break begins, as Athlon Sports put it, on first down and on the opening drive.
Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA