BY SIN BLITZERS
Bengals VS Chargers : By Bill Murphy
The Bengals are looking to get back on track after their last minute 35-34 loss against division rival Baltimore Ravens, last week. Last week Joe Burrow was 34/56 for 428 yards and four touchdowns . Three out of those four touchdown passes were to Ja’marr Chase and the other was to Tanner Hudson. Chase Brown added a rushing touchdown. This week the Bengals will be facing of against the Los Angeles Chargers who are coming off a 27-17 win against the Titans and are currently on a three game win streak. The Bengals need to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Keys To the Game
Bengals :
Offense : Chase Brown and the run game
This season so far Chase Brown has been a good replacement Joe Mixon. With Zach Moss out, Brown has a massive opportunity. Last week , Brown ran for 13 carries , 42 yards and one touchdown and added nine catches for 52 yards. Relying on the run game and less on the passing game would not give any strength to the powerful Chargers secondary and pass rush. That would benefit Joe Burrow, who looks like he may have Tee Higgins back.
Defense : Defensive Tackle
I believe the Bengals two defensive tackles BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankings are going to be a key in this game. BJ Hill has 13 tackles on the season so far, while Sheldon Rankins has 10 solo tackles and one sack . The Bengals defense has held three of their last four opponents to less than 100 yards , now they are having to handle this tough Chargers offense, where JK Dobbins has been fantastic.
Chargers :
Offense
Justin Herbert:
The Chargers offense has been super strong lately in which they have three straight games where they have scored 26 points or more. A big part of that strong offense has been QB Justin Herbert who last week had passed for 164 yards and one touchdown and ran for 9 carries , 32 yards and one touchdown. With a 123.1 rate , he has three straight game with 110 rate or higher. He also has the target of Quentin Johnson who has touchdown catches in consecutive games. Rookie Ladd McConkey has been fantastic this season as well. This could take advantage of a weak Bengals Secondary and pass defense which gave up four touchdowns to Lamar Jackson last week.
Defense
The Chargers defense has been absolutely stellar this league. It has gone from worst to first in scoring defense. One thing to definitely look out for is the pass defense which is ranked ninth in the league. The pass rush last week had seven sacks last week against the Titans and they have 31 sacks which is tied for fourth in the league. This defense is second in turnover differential at +9. A player in the pass rush to really look out for is outside linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu who recorded two of the seven sacks last week and had a second consecutive game with the sack .
Prediction
Chargers 24 Bengals 20
RAIDERS AT DOLPHINS : The Dolphins look to keep their playoff hopes alive against the Raiders. The Dolphins are coming off a 23-15 win over the Rams on Monday night. The key was the Dolphins defense came to play. They held the Rams without a touchdown, they sacked Matt Stafford four times and held the Rams to 3-12 on third downs, now they play a Raiders offense that has struggled immensely. Brock Bowers has had a great rookie season, but after moving Davante Adams, the Raiders have struggled offensively. Last week against the Rams, Tyreek Hill found the endzone for the first time since week one, well now he gets a chance to do it against a team he has done plenty of damage to. Hill has 10 touchdowns in 12 games against the Raiders.
TEXANS AT COWBOYS : Two teams desperate for a win collide on Monday and state bragging rights are on the line. The Texans are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Lions. But they are getting Nico Collins back for this one and that is someone CJ Stroud is looking forward to having back. The Texans are looking to right the ship, while the Cowboys need to find a ship. The Cowboys have lost four in a row and they have trailed by 20 or more points in five straight home games, which is an NFL record. Dallas is turning back to to Cooper Rush, and after five turnovers against the Eagles last week, what happens if the Cowboys are embarrassed again on National television.
The Sports Insanity Network 