Jump to content

Week 3 Bengals @ Panthers

MrCincinnati

By MrCincinnati
in Cincinnati Bengals

Recommended Posts

MrCincinnati

MrCincinnati

Posted
Posted

As per usual, just getting this out now just to be first

GAMEDAY INFO

The Bengals will travel to play the Panthers at 1 PM ET on CBS. TV Map is in the link, but will be updated on Wednesday
http://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2018&wk=3

HISTORY

Bengals are 1-2 when playing the Panthers in Carolina

Last matchup: 2014, 37-37 tie in Cincinnati
Last Bengals win: 2010, Bengals win 20-7 in Carolina
Last Panthers win: 2002, Panthers win 52-31 in Carolina

5 KEYS TO VICTORY

5. Linebackers on both sides - Not much for me to talk about for the Panthers, but we all know Luke Kuechly is one of the best LB's in the game. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Kuechly is always widely known for being a machine when it comes to the tackles. I'll consider it a miracle if he has less than 10 tackles this game, so this will be tough for the TE's and Bernard. As for the Bengals, I still wonder what this team will do going forward with this position. Preston Brown will more than likely be back after missing the last game, and Nick Vigil has yet to miss a single snap on the field. I was very surprised that Hardy Nickerson played all but one snap in week 2, so the guy that was probably going to be the odd man out once Burfict is back now seems to be safe, and that's not good news for Jordan Evans or Vincent Rey. I'm very curious how many snaps Brown and Nickerson will play on Sunday.

4. Promising Safety play - Last game both Shawn Williams and Jessie Bates looked fantastic against the Ravens as both players had an INT, and look to improve on the turnover margin for this team. Williams had a chip on his shoulder after an early exit in week 1 and did not disappoint, but the big surprise was Jessie Bates who has done good so far in filling the shoes of George Iloka. Safety play will be a big key in order to stop Newton as well as TE play, but it also makes the jobs easier for the CB's and other positions.

3. What happens at RB - The Bengals had there first bit of bad luck this season with Joe Mixon being out for two weeks, so he will miss this coming Panthers game, and possibly the Falcons. Stepping in his place will be Giovani Bernard who is all too familiar as a starter, but isn't nearly as talented as Mixon, so expect a fair amount of catches for Bernard. Tra Carson who was going to be the backup for Bernard was just waved today because of an injury settlement, so they signed former Seahawks RB Thomas Rawls who will be behind Mark Walton for now, but I think in a week or two will be ahead of him. Speaking of Walton, he will more than likely has his NFL debut this Sunday since he was inactive for the first 2 games, as he will look to show what he can do after a very disappointing preseason.

2. Contain Newton and the TE's - The biggest success to the Panthers has always been with Newton. When he plays good, the Panthers are a tough team to beat, but he's also very inconsistent. His last game against the Falcons is a perfect example of how good he can be, as he threw for over 300 yards and had 3 tds and 1 int, and almost beat the Falcons. In his week 1 game, he didn't even crack 200 yards though. Getting some hits on him will certainly help, but if he plays good, it could be a blowout. Also stopping the TE's for once would be nice for the Bengals, as Greg Olsen being out means rookie Ian Thomas will start again who was very quiet in week 2, so lets hope it stays that way.

1. Roll the dice and take shots down field - The deciding factor for the Bengals to win this game will be the passing game now. In order to win some games that your more than likely going to be down early, you have take chances. Andy Dalton throwing it deep has never been his strength, but he's got help to do that. AJ Green has to be the main target from the get go because if he plays like he did last game they could get an early jump on the Panthers. Tyler Boyd has been good so far, but they need John Ross to start contributing now as a deep threat if they want to make more noise.

PREDICTION

I was having trouble with this one, but something tells me its not gonna be pretty. The Injuries have already started hitting the Bengals last week, so with no Mixon and no Price this game it's gonna hurt them. Granted Hopkins played well and Bernard could be ok, but the cracks on the team are already started to show and this team traditionally doesn't play well coming off a Thursday night game or bye weeks for that matter. It feels good to be 2-0 right now and they have a golden opportunity to put themselves ahead of the pack this Sunday, but I'm not convinced in the offense despite how good they've played so far, and it just sounds like a classic situation where the Bengals lay an egg.

Bengals 13 Panthers 31 

"EXPERT PICKS"

johndeere1707 - Bengals 13-10
TheVillain112 - Panthers 24-13
SmittyBacall - Bengals 24-19
INBengalfan - Bengals 28-17
Futbudds - Bengals 28-20
MrCincinnati - Panthers 31-13

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SmittyBacall

SmittyBacall

Posted
Posted

This might be the best front-7 we'll line up against yet. It'll be interesting to see how the interior holds against Short, Poe, and Butler. Kuechley and Thompson are both class linebackers. But considering how well we handled Baltimore's D consider myself optimistic. Hopkins looked good as Price's replacement last week.

They've got the injury bug pretty bad right now. Last week they were down 3 starting offensive lineman (two tackles and Trai Turner - a really important piece for them). Greg Olsen - Newton's crutch - is pretty much done for the majority of the year so they are really only left with a sporadic group of not overly-threatening receivers. I have a feeling their slot man Jarius Wright will be the man we could loath come Sunday. Dennard is going to have to have a good game.

Newton is obviously the most athletic quarterback we'll be facing so far. Keeping him contained will be a huge component to winning the game. We must make sure to limit the amount of times he extends the play out of the pocket. And obviously always have an eye on him for when he tucks and runs.

All things considered I actually like our chances in this one. If Carolina struggled to get anything going offensively at home versus Dallas D, I expect them to struggle as much lined up with us. I'm also riding the Bill Lazor train until it stagnates/derails. The only thing that really worries me offensively is Mixon's absence. Here's to hoping Tra Carson fills that churning for yards role. Defensively, our linebackers need to tackle a hell of a lot better than they did against Baltimore versus McCaffery. Vigil needs to keep his momentum going.

BENGALS 24 - PANTHERS 19

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...