The Cincinnati Bengals face the first of three games that Joe Burrow describes as a stretch that will decide the season in Week 7.
There, the Bengals host the Atlanta Falcons, a tougher-than-expected opponent led by Marcus Mariota and a strong rushing attack that has given most opponents fits.
Burrow and Co. enter this one after a win after taking care of business against the New Orleans Saints, but the Falcons have played contenders like the Rams and Buccaneers close before taking down the 49ers, so it’s no simple task.
Here’s a look at some of the key players and storylines to know before the cross-conference battle.
Health
Sounds simple but it probably isn’t. Ja’Marr Chase, for example, went limited over the first two days of practice this week with what the team called a hip issue. Tee Higgins was also limited and Logan Wilson is out. La’el Collins continues to grapple with a back issue. And to top it all off, guard Alex Cappa showed up on the injury report after missing Thursday due to illness. Whether he — or any of these names — is 100 percent could play a huge role in the game’s outcome.
Hayden Hurst's revenge
Hurst is on a quest for revenge for the second time this season and in his first he scored a touchdown. More importantly, he’s probably going to be an important part of the offense. The Bengals adapted last week by throwing shorter stuff and prioritizing Tyler Boyd. Atlanta is likely to adapt, which means Hurst could be the big target of the day.
ATL's rushing attack
The Falcons have been near-unstoppable on the ground. Some of that is Mariota’s ability (206 yards, three touchdowns on a 4.8 average). But most of it is the talented offensive line and running backs. Cordarrelle Patterson, before an inuury, averaged 5.9 yards per rush. And Tyler Allgeier is second on the list with 235 yards on a 4.4 average. As a whole, the team averages 4.9 yards per carry. Given the lack of DJ Reader and Logan Wilson, this could be a huge, huge problem for the Bengals.
Adaptability
This season has been a slow slog for a team that has needed to deal with proper adaptions since the offseason. The offense was slow to get it right but is slowly making it work. But the defense has been getting gashed when offenses attack it at the edges while heading toward the sidelines. And that’s an adjustment that won’t be easy to make without the likes of Reader and Wilson. So while the offense has finally shown encouraging signs, the defense will have to match with proper fixes and execution in order to avoid upsets at the hands of beatable teams.
Joe Burrow
It all comes down to him, right? Burrow looked the most comfortable he has all season against the Saints and the result was 300 yards, three touchdowns and some weekly honors. He’s simply looking more at home against the sorts of coverages defenses have thrown out and isn’t locking onto one read. That meant an uptick in usage for Tyler Boyd (never a bad thing) and more taking what the defense gives. That has opened things up for the running game and even provided favorable shifting looks from the defense. If Burrow looks the same again, he should feast against an Atlanta defense coughing up 291.2 passing yards per game. And the Bengals will need him to be the same to compensate for a hobbled, sometimes-struggling defense.
