The Cincinnati Bengals head into a trap game in Week 8 against the New York Jets.
Coming off a mini-bye week after playing on a Thursday night against Pittsburgh the week prior, the winless Jets will start a backup quarterback while visiting on Sunday.
Backup quarterbacks, as Bengals fans know, tend to do well against Cincinnati defenses at times. As fans also know, the team usually doesn’t fare well after those mini-bye weeks.
Still, there’s a sense of change around the Bengals right now.
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Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards and three scores in that win over Pittsburgh on primetime, introducing the world to the idea the Bengals are very much alive in a struggling AFC. His play helped the offensive line a bit, while also opening up Chase Brown for 108 yards on 11 carries on the ground.
Al Golden’s defense still very much remains a work in progress after letting Aaron Rodgers throw four scores and the Steelers average 7.4 yards per carry.
The latest drama on that side of the ball is Logan Wilson requesting a trade in response to his benching and low snap counts in favor of rookies. Persistent tackling issues across the unit remain and will need fixed against a Jets team that will very obviously want to run the ball.
When it comes time to predict this one, though, the Bengals are nearly touchdown favorites for a reason. While the Jets defense has only allowed 13 points in each of its last two outings, it’s a tall task to shut down an offense with Ja’Marr Chase and others when the veteran quarterback is getting the ball out fast.
This will probably be an uncomfortable one for the Bengals, especially with the Jets making some headway on the ground. But there’s enough poise and explosiveness on the offensive side for Flacco’s offense to take it late.
Prediction: Bengals 20, Jets 17
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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Final score predictions for Jets vs. Bengals in Week 8
Reporting by Chris Roling, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
