NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Atlanta Falcons at home in week 7 of the 2022 NFL season. This will be their 15th meeting. The Bengals lead the series 9-5.
When: Sunday, October 23, 2022
Time: 1:00 pm
Network: Fox
Offense
The Cincinnati Bengals offense is slowly but surely finding its rhythm, and it showed in a great outing versus the Saints. After a few slow drives, the scoring was frequent, and the Burrow to Chase connection was electric.
The Bengals will have another golden opportunity this week against Atlanta. Interior lineman Grady Jarrett has been a force in the middle, getting sacks and tackles for loss. The Bengals interior lineman of Cordell Volson, Alex Cappa, and Ted Karras will have a tough task. Outside of Jarret, however, the Falcons pass rush is next to nonexistent. What the pass protection needs to improve is how they handle blitzes. The Falcons pass rush may indeed have its moments, but overall I just don’t think it’ll be nearly enough to disrupt the flow of the offense.
The Falcons defense is currently 31st in passing yards allowed. However, the matchup of Ja’Marr Chase and Falcons All-Pro AJ Terrell is definitely one to watch. This will be the first time these two will face off since the 2019 National Championship game. It’s also important to note that Terrell is coming off a hamstring injury last week. The variety of capable weapons that Cincinnati possesses should be too much for the Falcons to match. After losing Casey Hayward, the Falcons next man up will be second-year Darren Hall. He will be tested.
Atlanta’s defense stood tall versus the 49ers last week, but Cincinnati is a different beast. The key is still play calling and execution. Burrow and company need to get off to a hot start and not let up. Joe Mixon needs to be efficient in the run game, and Joe Burrow has to hit his throws. It is imperative that the Bengals do not turn the ball over. Turnovers could make things ugly based on how the Falcons offense has looked.
Defense
The Bengals defense, without a doubt, had their worst game last week in New Orleans. Giving up over 200 yards rushing is never a good thing to see. They are in desperate need of D.J. Reader to return, and now the Bengals defense is losing star linebacker Logan Wilson. This is a big loss, and the Falcons will look to take advantage. The Bengals next man up is third-year linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, who is someone I trust to fill in for Wilson.
The strength in this offense lies in the running game. This is where things could go wrong fast. After losing Cordarrelle Patterson to injury, rookie Tyler Allgeier has stepped up at running back. Caleb Huntley is also getting a good amount of carries as well. To keep Burrow off the field, Atlanta will most likely look to establish the run early to have long drives and control the clock. This defense needs to find itself somehow again.
Atlanta is not looking to throw the ball. Quarterback Marcus Mariota has thrown the ball at an average of 22 attempts per game while reaching over 200 yards passing just twice so far. When Mariota does throw the ball, he’ll be looking toward tight end Kyle Pitts and rookie wide receiver Drake London. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie hasn’t given up a touchdown yet this season, and I don’t think that will change on Sunday. Logan Wilson’s loss will also be felt in coverage in the middle of the field.
The Bengals are getting pressure in the pass rush but not as many sacks as they’d like. The Falcons offensive line has also looked much better compared to last year. The Bengals need to get sacks to disrupt Atlanta’s game plan of running the football. If Cincinnati can somehow limit the run and cause at least 1 turnover, then they should be in great shape to put points on the board.
Prediction
Bengals win 31-28
