The Cincinnati Bengals have a tall task in front of them in Saturday’s wild card round playoff game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Yes, the game takes place at Paul Brown Stadium and yes, they already beat the Raiders once this season. But those Raiders have a ton of momentum and have overcome more adversity than most playoff teams this year.
But former Bengals star T.J. Houshmandzadeh says the Bengals have something the Raiders don’t — Joe Burrow.
Houshmandzadeh’s thoughts about the Bengals in the first round were collected by The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. and Jay Morrison:
Houshmandzadeh: I actually think they’re gonna do it. It doesn’t matter who they play; they’re gonna do it this year. Joe’s not gonna let them lose in the first round. I’m tellin’ ya — there’s something about this dude. Unless they just play absolutely terrible, they’re winning it this year. They’ll win a playoff game. They might get to the Super Bowl if some bounces go their way.
Burrow, a Comeback Player of the Year and MVP candidate, is indeed the biggest reason the Bengals are where they’re at — and he’s kept playing great in big moments since his LSU days.
That said, Burrow only threw for 148 yards in his team’s 32-13 win over the Raiders back in Week 11. Bad weather or not on Saturday, he’ll have to step up if the Bengals are to advance to the divisional round.
