Eagles at Bengals preview and predictions

Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?

This year, most teams that Cincinnati plays do, and then they do in fact beat dem Bengals. Or tie them. The Bengals are 3-7-1, their three wins coming against the Jets, the Browns and the Dolphins before they went on a 6 game winning streak. They also tied the Redskins.

Cincinnati is listless this year. They are 27th in scoring, struggling to score even with AJ Green, who will miss today’s game with a hamstring injury, and Giovanni Bernard, who is out for the year with a torn ACL. The Bengals give up the 5th worst sack rate, going up against an Eagles defense with the 10th best. The Bengals were bad when they were healthy, and now they’re missing some key players. It’s no better on the other side of the ball. The Bengals defense is 23rd in yards and 17th in scoring, a bend-but-don’t-break disappointment for a unit that finished top 5 in scoring in two of the past three years. They have the 8th worst touchdown percentage against, but also the 3rd best interception percentage.

On the other hand, they’re facing a team that is also wounded, reeling and 1-5 on the road. Jordan Matthews is likely to miss today’s game, and if he plays he will not be at 100%. Ryan Mathews and Halapoulivaati Vaitai are definitely out. For Carson Wentz, who has thrown multiple interceptions in three of his last six games and is facing one of the best intercepting teams with the worst group of wide receivers in the league, ball security will be paramount.

Both teams are looking at this game as one where they can stem the bleeding. The Bengals are 1-5-1 in their last seven and have spent most of the season looking like a team waiting for an end of season coaching change. The Eagles are 2-6 in their last eight, looking like a team going through a rebuilding phase.

Expect an ugly game, as Eagles-Bengals games tend to be.

Predictions

Score: Eagles 20, Bengals 13

Bold prediction: Special teams touchdown for the Eagles

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