NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will travel up north to face the Cleveland Browns for the battle of Ohio on Monday night of week 8 in the 2022 NFL Season.
When: October 31
Time: 8:15 pm
Network: ESPN
By Jalen Willingham
Offense
Last week the Bengals offense looked exactly how many thought they would look going into the season. From the very first snap, the offense could not be stopped, and it was bombs, over Bagdad. This week presents a very big challenge for the Cincinnati offense. Not having Ja’Marr Chase is a big blow to this offense that simply can’t be replaced. The next few weeks will be a big test for Joe Burrow. I’m very confident in him of course. The good news is that Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Hayden Hurst and, Joe Mixon will still all be there. Tee Higgins needs to step up and prove that he is a capable number-one receiver. He will most likely be matched up with Greg Newsome or Greedy Williams since Denzel Ward is out with a concussion.
The Browns run defense is currently 24th in yards given up per game. The running game for Cincinnati needs to at least be viable. Mixon will get his carries but he needs to be efficient which is something he hasn’t done much of this season. The edge rushers Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney must be kept in check or else the game could look the way it looked versus Dallas or Pittsburgh with endless sacks. I think it’s inevitable that Garrett gets at least one sack however. The offensive line has to also do well with picking up blitzes as well.
Defense
The Browns are in desperate need of Deshaun Watson coming back to save the day. When all else fails, the Browns will simply hand the ball off to Nick Chubb. Kareem Hunt is also a factor but I question just how much he’ll be used due to talks of him being traded. Either way, the Bengals need to be ready to face both of them. Will they be able to do that against a much better rushing offense than the Falcons is the question. Not having nose tackle D.J. Reader back yet will certainly hurt. Linebacker Logan Wilson being back is a big plus. The Bengals need to stop the run regardless. Facing a top offensive line in the league that will be without offensive guard Wyatt Teller, the Bengals front 7 still needs to be at the top of their game.
Jacoby Brissett can make throws when they need him to but stopping the run and causing turnovers will truly shut their offense down. When Brissett does throw, his top targets are wide receiver Amari Cooper and tight end David Njoku. Njoku is also out so Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones should get most of the targets. Chidobe Awuzie hasn’t given up a touchdown yet all season and I trust him versus Cooper in primetime. Besides, I’d rather have Brissett beat the Bengals instead of Chubb gashing them all day. The Bengals are yet to give up a second-half touchdown. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has done an excellent job with scheming this season. The adjustments need to continue to be made versus the Browns.
Even with the Bengals riding high after 2 nice wins, I don’t expect to see a blowout against an AFC North rival. Usually, I’d trust the Bengals versus a 2-5 team but they’ve lost 4 straight to Cleveland along with now being without Ja’Marr Chase for quite a while. The Bengals are in a great position to win but it wouldn’t surprise me if they lost on yet another walk-off field goal.
Prediction
Bengals win 24-21
