NFL
By: Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will be on the road to face the New York Jets in Week 3 of the 2022 season. This will be the 29th time these 2 teams will meet. The Jets lead the series 18-10.
When: Sunday, September 25
Time: 1:00 pm
Network: CBS
Offense
The Bengals offense was ineffective and uninspired once again in Week 2 against the Cowboys. The play calling was atrocious and the offensive line was piss poor to no one’s surprise. The offense reminded me of something out of the Marvin Lewis era where playing it safe was oftentimes the go to choice in many situations. I’m honestly not sure if any of this changes versus the Jets. Their defense so far has been average at best. The Bengals offense, however, has been below average. The Jets only have a total of 3 sacks so far along with being 21st in pressure rate. With the way the Bengals offensive line has looked, the Jets pass rush could be primed for a big performance. Expect Quinnen Williams to have a field day. The play calling needs to be more aggressive and they need to get better on first down. With Zac Taylor calling the plays, I simply don’t have faith in that changing for the better this week. The matchup of Ja’Marr Chase vs rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner will be worth watching. Despite being noted for giving up a touchdown last week, he’s been off to a good start nonetheless. The running game has been lackluster. Joe Mixon has been seen missing wide-open running lanes at times as well. Cincinnati can’t seem to get opposing defenses to get out of Cover 2 and as long as that’s the case, expect to be disappointed watching the Bengals offense.
Defense
The defense got shown up by backup Cooper Rush last week in the first half but they were able to stabilize more so in the second half. It wouldn’t surprise me if Joe Flacco does something similar. Overall, the Bengals so far have been outscored 34-9 in the first half. It also doesn’t help when your offense just doesn’t want to win. The Bengals defense is not bad at all, but they can certainly improve a bit. Cincinnati’s pass rush has only gotten them 2 sacks so far. With the Jets being in the top 5 in both passing yards and attempts, there may definitely be opportunities to get to Flacco. I think Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard will be able to shake things up. The Bengals need to utilize some of their rookies and rotational players. It wouldn’t hurt to give the starting defensive line more of a breather when most of them are playing 50+ snaps. In other areas, first-round pick Daxton Hill played just 2 snaps last week. I refuse to believe that there are just so many safeties better than him. Jets rookie Garrett Wilson has been their most targeted player so far and will be matched up with Chidobe Awuzie. Cincinnati needs to force turnovers to keep them in the game based on how flat the offense has been. The run game for the Jets should be limited. Nose tackle D.J Reader and linebacker Logan Wilson have been playing at an extremely high level to open the season.
Prediction
Jets win 21-18
