NFL
By Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Arizona Cardinals on the road in week 5 in the 2023 NFL Season.
When: Sunday October 5, 2023
Where: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
Network: Fox
Offense:
How much worse can the offense look? That is the question that I’m sure many Bengals fans and even NFL fans around the league are asking right now. Barely anything went right for Joe Burrow and the offense against Tennessee. Burrow has once again been cleared to play this week. I’m in strong opposition to that regardless if Burrow and the organization say that the franchise quarterback is feeling better. He should not be playing but he is.
This has been stated countless times, but the Bengals need to do a better job of protecting Joe Burrow. He is getting hit far too much, and his inability to move in or out the pocket will continue to hurt this Bengals offense. Arizona has 12 sacks and 16 qb hits in the first four games. Dennis Gardeck has led the way for the Cardinals with four sacks and 6 qb hits. They will indeed send pressure after Burrow. The question is will the offensive line be able to protect him. I can’t say that I’m confident about that area.
Burrow will indeed get the ball out fast, and Ja’Marr Chase will no doubt be the top target especially now that Tee Higgins is dealing with a rib injury. We could also see more of Tyler Boyd as well. If you believe in a get right game for Cincinnati’s offense, this week may be the time to do it against the Cardinals defense. They have allowed a rating of 97.2 to wide receivers so far. Chase could have a big game.
Joe Mixon needs to get more touches on the ground. The Bengals probably won’t do that though. I think he will be solid once again in his limited usage.
Defense:
The Defense hasn’t looked much better in comparison to the offense either. You could easily see that the offensive struggles are rubbing off on the defense as well. They are now facing a Cardinals quarterback in Joshua Dobbs who is starting to gain much more confidence while under center. This is only his seventh career start but so far in 2023, Dobbs has a completion percentage of 70.7% with a rating of 99.4.
Cincinnati is holding receivers to a rating of 73 right now. Overall, their passing defense has much room for improvement while giving up a rating of 88.9 with all the new faces in the secondary. Letting Ryan Tannehill have a bounce back game also isn’t the best look either. The good news is that the Bengals should have Cam Taylor-Britt back at cornerback after suffering a concussion last week. That will definitely be something to watch.
Marquise Brown is the leading receiver for Arizona. Michael Wilson can be a playmaker for them as well. He caught two touchdowns last week against the 49ers. Tight end Zach Ertz has been a go to target in recent weeks and the Bengals have given up three touchdowns with a rating of over 120 to opposing tight ends. The Cardinals may definitely try to exploit this weakness.
Running back James Connor has been solid on the ground averaging 5.1 yards a carry while the Bengals are giving up 4.9 yards a pop o start the year. I fear Arizona may have them beat here once again.
The Cardinals offense has only given up six sacks so far this season. Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard have to be at the top of their game to cause problems for this offense. Joshua Dobbs is also a threat outside the pocket. Cincinnati has to contain and keep the explosive plays to a minimum here.
Prediction
Usually, the Bengals would be fine facing a lowly team like the Cardinals but only the football gods know how this Bengals team will look on Sunday. I don’t even want to get my hopes up.
Cardinals win 21-17
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