2nd Round of the Playoffs
For the first time in 31 years the Cincinnati Bengals won a playoff game! The ominous cloud from the curse of Bo Jackson is finally lifted from Cincinnati. Saturday was a wild ride of emotions where fans were seen crying in the stadium after a tumultuous 31 seasons. Joe Burrow has come to Cincinnati and given the city hope. Something that the team hasn't had since Boomer Esiason. Burrow has the “it” factor that can take this team places they have not been in a long time, maybe even ever before. The aura around Burrow is contagious, and gives Cincinnati fans unlimited confidence. Quotes from Burrow after the win are the reason why; “It’s exciting but was expected. This wasn’t the icing on the cake. This is the cake.” When a quarterback has this much confidence the whole team shares it. Cincinnati will be the underdogs for the rest of the playoffs, and media members will say that they are the easiest team to beat. As a biased Bengals fan I would politely disagree, but for now let's break down the upcoming game.
The first thing to break down is the defense. Both teams have almost identical defensive stats. The Titans rank as the 2nd best rush defense while the Bengals are 5th best. When it comes to passing defense these two defenses are separated by 3 yard, ranking 25th and 26th in yards allowed. Statistically these two defenses are almost identical and should be a general wash. Which defense produces the most turnovers will probably be the difference maker in this matchup.
When it comes to the offenses these two are polar opposites. The Bengals like to throw the ball and the Titans like to do anything but that. The Bengals pass offense ranks 7th while the Titans rank 24th. When it comes to rushing offense the Bengals rank 23rd while the Titans rank 5th. Game script on Saturday will make a big difference for this game. If the Titan's get ahead they will lean on their potent offensive line and try to control the entire game. If the Bengals get ahead the Titans will have to rely on their anemic pass offense and hope to get back into the game.
When looking at this game it seems that the star players will be the determining factor in the outcome of this game. Is your faith in Joe Burrow or Derrick Henry? These will be the two who will change the outcome of the game. Burrow will be facing a 3-4 base defense, which he is 7-2 against this season. Burrow thrives when facing a defense that relies on blitzing to create pressure, which the Titans do. That coupled with Burrow’s stats for the last 5 games of (74% completion percentage, 1720 yards, 13 TD, 0 INT), should be good signs for Bengals fans. He should be able to rely on all three receivers to carve up the Titans secondary. Derrick Henry will be coming back from a broken foot; despite missing half of the regular season games, Henry led the NFL in rushing for ¾ of the season. Henry is a massive running back who is bigger than every Bengals defender minus the defensive line. If Henry gets in space he will torch the Bengals secondary. If the Titans can rush for over 200 yards, like they have many times this season, the Bengals will struggle immensely.
Prediction time. Joe Burrow will put another stamp on the NFL. Burrow goes 33/45 400+ yards and 3TD. The Bengals will hold a lead and use that to control the Titans potent rushing attack. We will only see 70% Derrick Henry as he is still recovering from the broken foot. The Bengals will end up winning 34-21 moving on to the AFC Championship game. Just remember the 2020-21 Bengals team at 1-5-1 beat this Titans team who were 5-1 and ended up being 11-6. If you need a reminder here's a link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG5gm2d41yk
