Key Matchups: Cincinnati Bengals Looking For Much Needed Win Over Carolina Panthers

The Bengals are hoping to enter the bye week with a winning record.

Author:
Nicole Zembrodt
Updated:
Nov 5, 2022 10:18 AM EDT
Original:
Nov 5, 2022

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Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati wants to forget about their performance against the Browns in Week 8. They quickly shifted their focus to their matchup with the Panthers on Sunday.

At the start of the season, this game appeared to be a sure-fire win for the Bengals. That isn't the case anymore. Although Cincinnati is favored in this one, Carolina has nothing to lose.

They're 2-6, starting a rebuild after trading away Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson, and P.J. Walker is their starting quarterback. He beat out Baker Mayfield for the spot even with Mayfield healthy, coming back from injury.

They've been playing some of their best football in recent weeks.

The Bengals will have to overcome a number of adversities to pick up a much needed win heading into their bye week.

Injuries are mounting for the Bengals. They will be shorthanded this week after losing Chidobe Awuzie to a season-ending ACL injury. Mike Hilton, Josh Tupou, and Ja'Marr Chase are also out.

Tre Flowers (hamstring) and La'el Collins (illness) are both questionable for Sunday's game.

The offense was inept without Ja'Marr Chase and the defense struggled to stop both the Browns' rushing and passing attacks.

Let's take a look at this weeks matchups to see how they can turn things around this week.

Matchup of the Game: Cam Taylor-Britt vs. D.J. Moore

The Bengals are going to have to turn to their youth in the secondary much sooner than expected after Awuzie's injury last week.

Moore will be Taylor-Britt's first task. The receiver is coming off his best game of the season, when he finished with six receptions for 152 yards against the Falcons, including a 62-yard Hail Mary touchdown catch from Walker to force overtime.

Moore is an explosive, deep threat that will stack yards after the catch. He leads the NFL with 10 receptions of 50 or more yards since 2018 and is the only wide receiver with a minimum of 1,200 scrimmage yards in each season from 2019-2021.

The rookie cornerback is going to have to play more patient this week to not give up the potential big play Moore can make. Taylor-Britt tried to undercut Browns wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones' route for an interception, but missed and the play resulted in a 37-yard completion.

The coaching staff wants Taylor-Britt's ball skills to shine as he is going to get opportunities to go against opposing teams' number one receivers.

Eli Apple and Jalen Davis will also see action against Moore. He has proven to be productive from both outside and in the slot.

There is a large drop-off from Moore to the next pass-catcher on the offense. Moore leads the team with 33 catches (65 targets) for 425 yards. Terrace Marshall Jr. is second with 10 receptions (17 targets) for 148 yards.

McCaffery (33 catches, 277 yards) and Anderson (13 catches, 206 yards) are currently second and third on the team despite being traded earlier this season.

Carolina's passing offense is 28th in the league averaging just 187.1 yards per game. If Taylor-Britt and the secondary can make Moore a non-factor, they'll take away a huge part of their offensive attack.

Sam Hubbard vs. D'Onta Foreman

Hubbard is Cincinnati's premier run defender with DJ Reader on injured reserve.

He has seven tackles for loss and 36 total tackles on the season. Hubbard has been able to stuff the line of scrimmage to close gaps and penetrate the ball carrier.

The defensive end constantly has his eyes in the backfield to track the running back and/or quarterback, which has been key to his success. Offenses are starting to show Hubbard more attention, freeing up another defender to attack.

Hubbard has been a bright spot in the struggling run defense since Reader has been out. The Bengals have allowed an average of 165.5 yards on the ground the last four games and 4.4 yards per carry on the season.

Foreman will be another hot running back they'll face. He has back-to-back 118 yard rushing games. He added three touchdowns in last week's thriller overtime loss to Atlanta.

His work load has greatly increase in the last couple of weeks as a result of McCaffery's departure and Chuba Hubbard's injury.

Carolina's offensive game plan should revolve around Foreman. It will be important for Hubbard and the front-seven to contain Foreman and not let him wear down the defense like Nick Chubb did last week.

Tee Higgins vs. Jaycee Horn

Higgins struggled in his first game as the Bengals' time wide receiver with Chase out.

He caught only two-of-five targets for eight yards in the first half. Higgins wasn’t targeted again until the the fourth quarter for a 41-yard touchdown reception with the Browns leading 32-6.

Horn has been a shutdown corner. When targeted, he's allowing a 39.4% passer rating. He's had just 23 passes thrown in his direction in six games played in this season. Horn has given up 10 catches for 106 yards and no touchdowns.

Higgins needs to become Burrow's go-to receiver with Chase out. His ability to win downfield jump balls gives him a high upside each week no matter who is covering him. Burrow should be able to throw the ball in his general direction and Higgins comes down with it like his touchdown grab Monday night.

Horn will be a challenge, but if Higgins can get going, it could be the spark plug this offense is missing.

La'el Collins vs. Brian Burns

Zac Taylor called Collins "day-to-day" with an illness heading into Sunday's game. He's missed this week of practice.

If Collins doesn't suit up, Hakeem Adeniji will likely get the start in his place. Whomever gets the nod, will face Burns.

Burns was a hot topic as the trade deadline came this week. Albert Breer reported that the Rams offered Carolina two first-round picks for Burns and the offer was rejected.

The edge rusher has five sacks, 16 pressures, nine quarterback hits, eight tackles for loss, and 36 combined tackles.

"He's a Pro Bowl-caliber defensive end," Brian Callahan said this week.

Cincinnati's offense was clicking on the first drive in Cleveland until Myles Garrett tipped a pass from Burrow and was intercepted by AJ Green. Garrett and company controlled the rest of the game consistently pressuring Burrow.

The same storyline cannot happen with Burns as well as defensive tackle Derrick Brown. Both have the ability to take over games. If the Bengals want to get the offense's mojo back, it starts up front by winning the battle in the trenches.

Joe Burrow vs. Panthers Secondary

The Panthers' secondary is allowing an average of 232.0 yards allowed per game (20th in the NFL).

Burrow currently leads the NFL with 2,329 passing yards. He is 372 passing yards shy of 10,000 yards for his career.

The quarterback would tie Justin Herbert as the second-fastest player (35 games played) in NFL history to reach the 10,000 yards if he is able to tally 372 yards Sunday.

Outside of Horn, the Panthers' secondary has struggled. Safety Juston Burris (concussion) is out, while Donte Jackson (ankle) is questionable to play.

If Horn shadows Higgins, expect Burrow to look more in the directions of Tyler Boyd and Hayden Hurst to take advantage of their weakness. Burrow needs to push the ball down the field and generate points to put the team in position to win.

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