Sunday’s matchup with the New York Giants on the Week 6 edition of “Sunday Night Football” is it for the Cincinnati Bengals.
There, the Bengals have one more chance to rally, get things on the right path, and give themselves a chance to stick around in the conversation. A loss would put them at 1-5, whereas at least moving the needle to 2-4 might give them hope in a messy AFC North where the top two teams are 3-2.
But it’s easier said than done.
The Giants aren’t a pushover by any means at 2-3. Daniel Jones and Co. have won two of their last three and played good teams like Washington and Dallas close in losses. Jones has enjoyed some quality play with improved surroundings and the 12th-ranked defense.
Joe Burrow is the driving force of hope for the Bengals, though. He’s playing at an MVP level with a 72.3 completion percentage with 12 touchdowns against two interceptions. But even his fantastic return to form after injury hasn’t been enough to overcome an almost-historically bad defense that is literally the difference between two or more wins if it could generate just a few more stops a game.
Luckily for the Bengals, the defense will return more key contributors on the line on Sunday. Sheldon Rankins is finally back in the middle, so fans will get to see if the front office’s main DJ Reader replacement plan can pan out.
With B.J. Hill and a rookie like Kris Jenkins back on the line, too, it’s the healthiest the unit has been all season. But counteracting that now is the season-ending loss of cornerback Dax Hill, which means throwing DJ Turner out there full-time and seeing how things go.
Giants star defender Dexter Lawrence is bound to cause some problems on Sunday. And yet, this is the best line of Burrow’s career, and he’s got a fully healthy offense around him, so on paper, the gameplan should be built around getting the ball out fast and avoiding him.
Tack on a sense of desperation to Burrow’s elite play and the idea that the defense really can’t get any worse, and, well, this should be a win for a team that needs it in the worst way.
Prediction: Bengals 27, Giants 20
