It’s no secret, the Cincinnati Bengals season, with a loss tonight against the New York Giants, essentially takes them out of playoff consideration. No team has ever made the Super Bowl starting 1-5; only 3 teams have ever made the playoffs in whole with that start. There’s no sugarcoating it, a loss today, and the season, not statistically, but realistically…is over. Let’s talk about what this Bengals team will have to do to come out with a win.
The Cincinnati Bengals lead the all time head to head against the New York Giants 6-5. The Bengals haven’t matched up with the Giants since Covid’s season, in 2020, where the Bengals fell to them 17-19 to become 2-8-1 in total.
Defense. Defense. Defense.
The Cincinnati Bengals will get Sheldon Rankins, arguably their top 2024 FA signing, back tonight. The storied vet that was signed to fill the hole that former Bengal DJ Reader left as the Bengals mistakenly let go in Free Agency has been hurt for the last 4 weeks without an IR designation due to the anticipation of him being back. BJ Hill’s first game back last week against the Ravens, which turned in another heartbreaking loss, was a successful one for 92. BJ played great. It’s no secret the Bengals main issue on defense has been stopping the run. These two being healthy again, Sheldon & BJ, should continue to help a struggling defense perform.
The Bengals defense has given up the 5th most rushing yards in the NFL. That…is atrocious. 757 rush yards on 157 attempts. They’ve not gotten big stops, there hasn’t been a timely turnover….every issue the Bengals have had thus far in 2024 has to do with the defense. Tonight has to be a step closer to turning it around. If they don’t, and as Nati Sports Contributor Chris Ball wrote about, Lou Anarumo may need to be let go and a change will need to be made.
Joe Burrow Must Continue To Excel
Let’s face it, the Cincinnati Bengals have been one of the most impressive offenses over the last few weeks, and everything has to do with Joe Burrow being in his bag. If the Bengals weren’t 1-4 currently, Joe Burrow would absolutely be frontrunner for MVP. I said it. I meant it. To win tonight, we need Joe Burrow in his bag. The Giants defense are sneaky good at creating chaos, in fact, #1 in the league at just that. They aren’t great by any means, but they have created a whole lot of turnovers. Joe can’t make any mistakes tonight.
To quote him for the Baltimore game, “I have to be perfect,” – Well, Joe…you’re going to have to be that way again. Perfect. Or near it, at least. This defense still has a ton of ???’s all over, getting healthier or not.
It’s simple, tackle…
This one could be put under the defense header, but seriously, the Bengals are a bottom 5 tackling defense and that has to change…starting tonight. As I posted on X, Geno Stone has been the most unimpressive in this category, and it’s been entirely out of character for him.
Geno Stone is ground zero for the Bengals – he has to be better. He’s also the worst graded defender the Cincinnati Bengals possess via PFF – 37.8; by far, that is the worst graded starting safety in the league and its not close. Geno Stone needs to have a way better game against the Giants’ Daniel Jones, who is susceptible to throwing INTs, ironically, when given more time.
Contain Wan’Dale Robinson
I haven’t seen this talked about enough. Wan’Dale, one of my favorite Kentucky Wildcats, has not really had a superb NFL career just yet, but his profile fits what the Cincinnati Bengals defense struggle with entirely, a very quick slot. Our LBs are having a tough time keeping guys in front of them, and our secondary is…less than ideal so far, especially with Dax Hill out for the season.
Daniel Jones has been impressive under pressure, but Trey Hendrickson and the defensive front will have to get to him tonight a few times to help get the defense off the field. The New York Giants contain one of the worst rushing offenses in the league, averaging only 3.9 YPC, so we will need the secondary to be sharp as a razor tonight for a win.
Final Score Prediction – New York Giants vs Cincinnati Bengals
How to watch: Sunday Night Football – NBC/Peacock
What time: 7:20 PM central – 8:20 PM Eastern – 5:20 PM Pacific
Final score prediction: Cincinnati Bengals – 38 || New York Giants – 27
Joe Burrow: 325 yards 3 TDs, Chase Brown 80 yards, 1 rTD – Tee Higgins Player of the Game with 2 TDs 110 yards
WHO Dey!
