Lotta Love for 91'
Can you believe it's been 31 years since the Bengals have won a playoff game? And it all started with the Raiders back in 1991. Some of you were actually born in 1991. Now that’s wild! But it’s not 1991 and this Bengals team has Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon and Ja’Marr Chase. The Triple J. Sounds like something Nancy Kerrigan did at the 1991 World Championships. I swear when I started writing this, I did not think 1991 would have such a starring role but hey why not. It was a good year, and I was like 7 years old. Good times.
And good times are on the way with this matchup! Don’t let the time slot fool you. The Saturday afternoon game during Wildcard Weekend often gets a bad wrap as in “the game nobody cares about” but I care about it, and you should too. It will probably be one of the more entertaining games of the weekend after the Cowboys and 49ers.
Betting Big on the Bengals
I sure did. In fact, I went all in on the Bengals way back in the summer. I predicted they would be the “noise makers” of the season and that they would make the playoffs. But can they actually win a playoff game? Let's see....
You can get an X’s and O’s breakdown anywhere. I’m not gonna do that. No, we are just gonna go ol’ bullet- point-list style here. I think it’s fun to see someone’s thought process so here we go –
What I Know
Raiders offense is inconsistent
Bengals offense will put up points
Bengals rank 7th in the league averaging 27.1 points per game
Raiders rank 22nd in the league at 22 points per game
Derek Carr & Co. averaged 16pts per game over their last 5 games & only scored more than 17pts just once in that time span.
It’s gonna take more than 17 pts to beat the Bengals isn’t it?
Then again, the Raiders have scored 30+ in 6 games so they absolutely can get into a shoot out with the Bengals
That’s part of the problem though isn’t it? What Raiders offense are we gonna get? Boom or bust. No in between
Dererk Carr isn’t great in cold weather & snow is in the forecast (please stay away from NJ. Last week was enough)
Just checked the weather. Wow 17 degrees Sat night in Cincy. 21 degrees in Jersey. Nope. Not leaving the house
Dome teams. HA!!
Raiders haven’t played a game under 40 degrees this season & Derek Carr is 5-10 in games below 50 degrees
** takes break to check weather for the next week in NJ** miserable ass winter
Note to self – book trip to Miami soon
Raiders have tightened up their run defense so they may limit Joe Mixon a little bit
Bengals must protect Joe Burrow. Maxx Crosby & Yannick Ngakoue can be a nightmare for Burrow if that line doesn’t hold up
Bengals OL held up just fine in that first matchup but you gotta give respect to playmakers
Defense wins championships
Are either of these defenses championship worthy? Nah
Raiders hardly ever blitz
How many time zones are the Raiders crossing? 3? Not great
The Raiders backed into the playoffs
The Bengals just rested everybody
The Bengals have too much fire power
The Raiders defense is too shaky and Burrow will pick them apart
And there you have it kids. The ramblings of a madwoman.
My last point just drives home my belief in Joe Burrow and the Bengals even more. I think the Raiders will give it their all and they will score points, but the Bengals finally end the drought, and it all comes full circle. Don’t you love when that happens?
Bengals 31, Raiders 28