The Bengals Just Exposed a BIG Problem...

The Bengals just exposed a big problem that they face against Baltimore. Looking at historical performances and the way the Bengals are trending, they are up against some key stats in this matchup. But I think that they can overcome them, and we're going to dive into all that here today on Bengals Digest. Thank you for joining us wherever you may be. My name is Adam Miniani, and welcome into Bengals Digest. We have a lot to get into today. Looking at some historical matchups versus the Ravens and some of the key trends in some of the stat lines the way that the Bengals look so far now this is a key game because they're going to be coming off the bye some time to rest up the Ravens are not coming off a bye and this game is in Baltimore and the next time we're going to face them is actually New Year's Eve so this game is a serious chance to really take the lead of this division with their divisional games honestly I mean this is the first divisional game that the Bengals will play this season and it's a familiar opponent so it really them winning this game seriously increases their chance of winning that AFC North and the way that it shapes out right now for us the Bengals are not favored the Baltimore Ravens are and they're 62% favorites the way people are trading on Calshi so if you trade $25 for the Bengals to win this division and they end up winning, you'll win $98.87 on Calshi. The best part is you're trading against other users, not the house like a traditional sportsbook. So you're buying yes or no contracts on real life events across sports, politics, even the weather. So if you're interested in trying out Calshi, be sure to click the link in the description below and use the code on your screen, DIGESTNFL, to get $55 added to your account instantly when you trade your first $25. So we dive in today talking about Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase facing a test against the Ravens. And so what does that mean? I mean, look at the stakes. The AFC North is on the line here, maybe not specifically in this game, but definitely in the long term. You see Baltimore's on a three-game winning streak. Cincinnati came off two losses and then won that last one. it's honestly up for grabs at this point in the division ravens are in front by one game but you see that point differential and they are 27 points so six points um ahead of cincinnati sorry eight points ahead of cincinnati math was off there and uh 27 points off of cleveland so from the bottom of the division huge point differential there when you're talking about that and I don't really think many people expect the Browns to win this one when you look at Burrow against the Ravens so historically he's done okay he's had some pretty solid games here and there he's struggled in a few areas for sure but if you look at the season right now the way that it's trending he's thrown for 272.2 yards per game 2.2 passing touchdowns a game against the Ravens those stats are very similar so if he keeps on the trend that he's on right now it's looking pretty good for Joe Burrow in terms of this but we don't want to rely on him completely these are the last six matchups that you're looking at for those averages so definitely the numbers could shake up in this game against Baltimore in Baltimore and then here's Jamar Chase's numbers so across the season he's averaging 57.8 a couple huge games in there of course but um looking at against the Ravens these are just the last six matchups you see the yardage uh differences there and so going back again to Burrow versus Baltimore I mean he had that 222 yard game and then the 101 yard game but other than that he really has not yardage wise struggled that much and so where Jamar Chase gets the ball is kind of all over the field as we know but um you can kind of find some patterns there and ways to attack this defense based on this I mean he's overall very efficient so I don't know how much these numbers are truly going to tell you but recently in the last 10 games spanning across last season um Jamar Chase has looked like Jamar Chase I mean let's be honest he the last five he's averaging 7.8 receptions but the previous 10 it was 8.4 so not a whole lot of difference there same with the receiving yards he's actually up point a tenth of a point in terms of receiving touchdowns but all the stats out of the way what do you guys think decides the Bengals versus Ravens matchup do you think it's more on Burrow's efficiency or do you think it's more on Chase to win his matchup? Now we talk about Jamar Chase and I think that we kind of forget about the fact that Tee Higgins is changing this game and he's looked very good this season. So in the middle of the field, Jamar Chase has been very dangerous. His most dangerous yards after catch opportunities come when he's targeted in the intermediate portion of the field so we looked at that chart before but in terms of where Tee Higgins looks uh in these in these last five games 27 receptions 423 yards on the season 84.6 a game i mean he he's honestly looking great and you look at the comparison of these numbers i think where Ja'Marr Chase kind of lacks Tee Higgins can definitely pick up in this game and i think this is a secondary that can be exploited. I really do. I mean, there's Ja'Marr Chase's numbers for the year there, but altogether, I think their passing game plan can really stress out Baltimore and kind of make some adjustments on the fly. So first of all, you got to use Higgins on intermediate routes over the field. Same with Jamar Chase. You got to get those guys open in the middle of the field. That's where the Bengals are most successful, more than any other team in the NFL. You got to get Chase targets with room to run after the catch as we talked about and then make Baltimore defend both receivers instead of tilting coverage these guys are both going to be healthy for this game the way that it looks and maybe even some more receivers healthy depending on how we're looking after the bye now Amarius Mims plays a big role in this as well he could keep Burrow's options open he actually recently um was considered a top candidate for NFL protector of the year award I mean, are we even surprised at this point? I mean, Amarius Mims has looked very good in the pass protection game. Run blocking could look a little bit better, but he's looked very good. In terms of Joe Burrow's stats this year, I mean, looking pretty solid. Already over the 1,300-yard mark with 11 touchdowns. He looks good. He looks really good. And this protection matters against Baltimore. Why does it matter? because Burrow has to get these clean routes to hit those intermediate passes, give Chase room to run, give Higgins room to run, avoid using extra eligible receivers as blockers. That's definitely a big part of it, too, when you're talking about scheming and then giving Chase and Higgins time to kind of uncover that defense. Cincinnati's pass rush, on the other hand, talking about the defensive side of the ball, has a chance to travel. And what I mean by that is they're currently tied for the third most sacks in the entire league they've got 17 and I think that they can continue that and be less worried about the offense honestly I mean if they can contain Lamar Jackson I think that that translates the issues to put them all on the Ravens defense and we're facing a familiar foe on that Ravens defense so far this year only in three games Trey Hendrickson has one sack and it's questionable right now I don't know if the status is out on if he's going to be playing this game but the defensive path for this game you got to score early to create passing downs keep Baltimore from extending those drives especially with Lamar Jackson's legs and let the rush attack when the Ravens must throw so what unit do you guys think matters the most against Baltimore do you think it's Burrow and the receivers on the offensive side of the ball maybe something I didn't talk about but I've talked about in recent videos the running game do you think that's more important or do you think it's more on the pass rush and making sure that gets involved because you know I would love to see them get a lot more sacks on that defensive side of the ball going against a very familiar face in Trey Hendrickson kind of showing him what he's missing out on on that defensive side excuse me uh but with all that being said thank you guys for tuning along and watching and we got more to come for you here on Bengals Digest.