The Cincinnati Bengals face what could easily be classified as a must-win game against the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
There under the bright lights of primetime, the Bengals must avoid an 0-3 start to the season. Luckily for Joe Burrow and Co., they looked like a new team during the class loss in Kansas City last week.
Here’s a quick look at some key storylines and players of note.
The Tee Higgins impact
Higgins is finally back and one didn’t have to look far to see Ja’Marr Chase being all smiles about it. As he said, there will be fewer double teams coming his way now. So while Higgins might put up big numbers as he plays on the franchise tag, it’s even more reasonable to expect a big game from Chase against a sluggish Washington secondary.
Defensive middle
No Sheldon Rankins. Rookie Kris Jenkins Jr. will play with a club on his hand. Possibly no B.J. Hill. A 34-year-old Lawrence Guy signed off the street will get playing time. Ends will be asked to kick inside to help. And a Commanders team that loves to run the ball and would love to take pressure off rookie passer Jayden Daniels. If the middle of the line can’t hold up, Burrow and the offense might not see many chances to put points on the board.
The RB rotation
Coaches said this week that any split that seems lopsided in the backfield is unintentional. But the fact Zack Moss has 21 carries to Chase Brown’s seven and outsnaps him by quite a bit seems too notable to ignore. Perhaps it was just a result of the matchups with the two opponents so far, sure. But it will be interesting to see if Brown gets more looks, considering he’s averaged six yards per carry to Moss’ 3.7.
Erick All Jr.
The hype for the rookie tight end is already growing. He established some looks in the base offense during the preseason and has caught all four of his targets so far. Does he start to eat into the snaps given to the likes of Mike Gesicki while being a reliable safety valve?
Jermaine Burton
Speaking of hype for rookies, the conversation around Burton has completely flipped. He went from facing a possible redshirt season to making a huge play against the Chiefs and getting key praise from Burrow himself. Will he see the field at all now that Higgins is back and Andrei Iosivas has started to make his breakout?
