It’s no secret that the odds are stacked against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. They face the daunting task of taking down the Seattle Seahawks on the road as the second biggest underdog in the league this week, and it’s not hard to see why. What could possibly go wrong when a rookie head coach takes his injury-riddled team to one of the most intimidating environments in football on the first Sunday of the season? The answer: a lot.
It’s no great source of shame that the Bengals are outmatched in their Week 1 encounter. It doesn’t get much tougher than an inexperienced coaching staff going on the road on opening weekend deprived of a number of key starters due to injury. The Bengals have been written off, but is there a plausible path to victory on Sunday? The path is long, arduous and fraught with peril, but stranger things have happened in football. There are a number of scenarios that will have to play out in order for Cincinnati to send shockwaves through the NFL.
Zac Taylor calls the perfect game
The biggest advantage the Bengals have right now is the element of surprise. Zac Taylor was reluctant to show his hand throughout the preseason, meaning that the Seahawks are left in the dark as to how to deal with a Bengals offense that they know very little about. The offense needs to hum early on in Sunday’s game before Seattle starts to make the necessary adjustments.
Andy Dalton echoed these sentiments: “People don’t see all the things we’ve been working on. There’s a lot of things that are unknown with this team with Zac taking over, and with some of the new pieces we have and the different things we’re going to do.”
Sunday marks the grand unveiling of Zac Taylor’s exciting new offense, and if everything clicks, the Bengals stand a chance at putting up points.
Andre Smith and Bobby Hart are serviceable
There’s no way to sugarcoat the dire situation at offensive tackle. Just when it appeared that a New Dey was on the horizon, the Bengals hopped into a time machine to enter Week 1 with Andre Smith as their starting left tackle.
To make matters worse, they’ll be greeted by newly-acquired Jadeveon Clowney on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage. Taylor will have to help out Smith and Hart by leaving a tight end in to chip, slowing down the pass rush with play action, and getting the ball out of Dalton’s hands with a quick passing attack.
All the Bengals need is average play from their tackles. Don’t be a human turnstile, and give Dalton a shot at executing the offense. It will be a long day if the Seahawks are consistently penetrating the pocket.
Stingy against the run
The Bengals defense hasn’t been ravaged by injury in the same way that the offense has, but they face a tough challenge going up against one of the league’s finest rushing attacks. The Seahawks led the league in rushing yards in 2018, while the Bengals defense is looking to bounce back from an abysmal season.
The Bengals will lose the game if Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny are running them ragged. The defensive line should be a strength of this team, but improved play at linebacker will be crucial to slowing down Seattle’s running backs and their mobile quarterback.
Tyler Boyd gets help from a teammate
In AJ Green’s absence, the Bengals desperately need someone not named Tyler Boyd to step up and become a reliable target for Dalton. Boyd carried the passing game for much of last season, but if the Bengals are to stand a chance in Seattle, they need someone else to help him out.
Having sat out all preseason, John Ross will take the field on Sunday determined to prove naysayers wrong and become the deep threat that this offense needs. How about a deep bomb to Ross off of play action to kick off the opening series of the game?
The last time the Bengals met the Seahawks, Tyler Eifert was utterly dominant, reeling in 8 catches for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns. It’s likely that the team will be cautious with Eifert, using him sparingly at the start of the season. When he is on the field on Sunday, he’ll provide a key mismatch as a ‘big slot’. If healthy, he’s a game-changer. They’ll need game-changers on Sunday.
