NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
When: Thursday, September 29
Time: 8:15 pm
Network: Amazon Prime Video
Offense
Can you believe it? The Cincinnati Bengals offense finally remembered how to play football on Sunday versus the Jets. Burrow was only sacked twice. The passing game was effective and the ball was able to move downfield. The rushing attack however was shaky and that has been a theme for the start of the season. I still believe in Joe Mixon long-term though. He needs to stop dancing around as much and just hit the hole running.
This Bengals offense must be ready once again to put up points to keep up with the explosive Dolphins offense. Any defense that holds this year’s Buffalo Bills offense to 3 points in one half should not be overlooked. Miami’s pass rush should not be underestimated with Melvin Ingram and Emmanuel Ogbah. The Bengals offensive line needs to be very keen on those two. They also need to build on their improvements from last Sunday. Christian Wilkins is also someone to look out for on the Dolphins defensive line. He can play all around the interior and if the Dolphins are smart, they will try to have him matched up versus rookie offensive guard Cordell Volson.
Ja’Marr Chase was kept in check by rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner. This week, he’ll be matched up with Xavien Howard. Howard along with safety Jevon Holland needs to be game planned against. Holland is an absolute playmaker. Chase needs a bounce-back game. Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and Hayden Hurst will be there just in case.
Defense
Cincinnati had another strong performance defensively versus the Jets. Miami however will be the best offense they’ve faced yet. Tua has been lights out and proving all his haters, including myself, wrong so far. Very few teams have elite speed and pass-catching targets like the Dolphins. Wide Receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are both averaging over 100 receiving yards a game so far. Hill will also be looking for revenge against cornerback Eli Apple. While many people will be expecting to see the matchup between Hill and Apple, I don’t actually think the Bengals will leave Hill one on one. They need to double him all game while leaving Chidobe Awuzie on Waddle. Defensive Coordinator Lou Anarumo will probably have Safety Jessie Bates lurking over the top to make plays on the ball similar to what was done when Bates intercepted Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship.
Miami’s offensive line has also been dealing with injuries. Tua is also coming into the game banged up from the nail-biter versus Buffalo. Add that onto having to go on the road with very little time to practice and things can go wrong. Cincinnati needs to rush the quarterback and get pressure and sacks to slow down drives and stop them in their tracks. Trey Hendrickson had a big game versus the Jets and he needs to do it again versus Miami. Left tackle Terron Armstead is expected to play, so him against Hendrickson is another matchup to watch. The 2 best at their positions going at it in the trenches. The Bengals defense will now be without Nose tackle D.J Reader for quite some time. This is a big blow to the very strong Cincinnati run defense along with linebacker Germaine Pratt also dealing with injuries. Miami hasn’t had a good running game so far so I’m interested in seeing how they’ll attack Cincinnati in that regard.
Prediction
Bengals win 24-21
