After a long stretch of obscurity, the 2024 NFL Season kicks off tonight and with their two biggest rivals going at it, the Cincinnati Bengals will need to kick the season off with a win on Sunday against the New England Patriots. The Thursday Night Game tonight is between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens which means that regardless of what happens, Cincinnati has an opportunity to either take an early one-game lead over their biggest division rival or to take a one-game lead over the biggest conference rival for a potential number one seed down the line.
Cincinnati Bengals Split Focus on Sunday
Obviously, a lot of the talk going into this week has been focused on wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and the potential offensive explosion against an already battered Patriots front seven. While that will be an interesting matchup, a lot of this game is going to be dependent on how well this inexperienced defensive unit can shut down a relatively talentless New England offense. If this defense can’t stop or even completely neutralize New England on the offensive side of the ball, this could be a long season.
Tough Sledding Against a Strong New England Offensive Line
It is difficult to decide who the most significant matchup is going to be for Cincinnati this upcoming game but in order for Cincinnati to succeed on the defensive side of the ball, they are going to need to mitigate the New England ground game. Without a legitimate quarterback over the past few seasons, this is a unit that has grown comfortable pushing the rushing attack and the interior of the Patriots offensive line certainly a big reason why. Center David Andrews has established himself as one of the most reliable run-blockers at the position and once they get moving, this is going to be a hard group to slow down.
Cincinnati Defense Must Hold the Line
For that reason, defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins earns the title of player to watch on the defense this week as the undersized defensive tackle taking on double teams in Cincinnati will face a monumental effort. Now it is difficult to see exactly where Rankins or counterpart defensive tackle B.J. Hill will lineup but neither tackle tops 320 and will have to go against some efficient run blockers on the interior of the line. If either tackle gives up ground at the point of attack, it would be near impossible to keep the New England running back whether it be Rhomandre Stevenson or Antonio Gibson from getting at least three or four yards.
The lack of size on the defensive interior after the departure of D.J. Reader to Detroit this offseason hast oft been a point of concern and we’re finally at a point where we’ll find out if that concern was valid.
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