Players to Watch: Panthers at Bengals
The Carolina Panthers (2-6) hit the road in Week 9 to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. The Panthers are coming in fresh off of a heartbreaking loss in overtime to their division rival Atlanta Falcons. Meanwhile, the Bengals have won 3 of their last 4 games, but have recently lost key players Ja'Marr Chase and Chidobe Awuzie to injuries. It should be a fun Sunday of football. Here are some players to watch from both teams:
Yetur Gross-Matos, Edge, Carolina
Brian Burns is the only Carolina defensive lineman to record more than two sacks (5) or tackles-for-loss (8) on the season. Gross-Matos, the former second round pick out of Penn State has yet to make a significant game impact so far in his career, but he has a juicy matchup on Sunday. The Bengals have allowed 30 sacks on the season, which is good for the second-worst mark in the NFL. If the Panthers are going to steal a win in Cincinnati, Gross-Matos will have to step up with the great matchup in front of him and show that someone other than Burns can get to the QB.
Tyler Boyd, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati
With Ja'Marr Chase out with a hip injury, the Bengals will be looking to do their best to keep their potent passing attack going with the next man up. Tee Higgins is a stud and the Panthers will definitely be keyed in on him. Boyd could be the X-factor to the Cincinnati offense's success beyond that though. Boyd has been with the Bengals since they draft him in 2016. He has been a reliable receiver over that time averaging 748.6 yards per season before they drafted Chase, including crossing the 1,000 yard mark twice over that span. Look for head coach Zac Taylor to call Boyd's number quite a few times today.
Terrace Marshall Jr., Wide Receiver, Carolina
With top-cornerback Chidobe Awuzie done for the year with a torn ACL, as well as Mike Hilton out on Sunday and Trey Flowers and Eli Apple battling injuries this week, the Bengals find themselves dangerously thin in the secondary. Safety Jessie Bates III is still a premier threat, but beyond him Carolina has a very exploitable matchup. DJ Moore will get his, but it will be up to Terrace Marshall Jr. to step up again if they are going to keep up with the Bengals potent offense. After a career-high 87 yards last week against Atlanta, expect the Panthers to try and continue to build on that momentum and see if Marshall can be a long term fit in the starting lineup.
Eli Apple, Cornerback, Cincinnati
As mentioned above, the Bengals are dangerously thin at cornerback this week. Fresh off of the most potent passing game the Panthers have produced this season by a wide margin, expect the Panthers to challenge the inconsistent Apple early and often. This game could be decided by whether or not this cornerback room can rise to the occasion.
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