Game Preview – PHI at CIN

The Eagles don’t play the Bengals very often yet there have been some really memorable moments in their games over the years. The teams don’t hate each other. There is no Philly-Cincy rivalry in terms of cities/people. They aren’t in the same division or conference. Still, the memorable moments happen.

The top of the list is the 2008 tie game. Donovan McNabb admitted after the game that he didn’t know there were ties in the NFL. That was a sloppy game by both teams. Four turnovers by the Eagles kept the game closer than it should have been and neither team could get anything going in OT.

There was a wild game back in 1994. The Eagles led 27-10 in part thanks to a Herschel Walker 94-yard KOR for a TD and a Mike Zordich pick-six. Cincy cut into the lead and the game was 30-20 in the early 4th quarter. The Bengals scored the last 13 points to win 33-30 and end the Rich Kotite era in a very fitting way.

Zach Ertz was a terrific player for the Eagles, but the low point of his career came in Cincy in 2016. His non-block was embarrassing. Total lack of effort and toughness. Ertz was more than forgiven after catching the winning TD pass in the Super Bowl. It wasn’t just Ertz who stunk against the Bengals. The whole Eagles team was awful, trailing 29-0 at one point.

I think the Eagles high point came in 1997. Bobby Hoying played the best game of his NFL career, throwing for 313 yards and 4 TDs in a wild 44-42 win. That win proved to the world that Hoying was a star and would be the Eagles franchise QB for years to come. I would appreciate if you didn’t Google him to confirm how his career went. Just trust me.

Things have not gone the Eagles way in this matchup for a while. The last time they beat Cincy was in 2000, winning 16-7 in the season finale. Nick Sirianni would be quick to point out that there are different players and coaches so all that history means nothing. Those of us on the outside would counter that failing to win in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 feels like a trend, even though those games featured different players and coaches. Sometimes destiny or luck or whatever you want to call it feels like something that has to be overcome.

Let’s move past history and talk about Sunday’s game. Both teams come in on 2-game win streaks. Both teams beat the Browns and Giants. The Bengals were +17 in those wins, the Eagles were +29. Advantage Birds.

That doesn’t mean anything of course, but Cincy did get out-gained by the Giants 309-304. The Bengals were only up 10-7 until scoring a TD inside the 2-minute warning to secure the victory. That gets your attention when compared with the Eagles winning 28-3 and out-gaining them 339-119. That was a dominant win.

The NFL is all about matchups so let’s talk about how these teams match up. The Bengals struggle in run defense. They are 22nd in yards allowed and have given up 149 or more yards in 4 of 7 games so far this year. That’s not ideal when facing red hot Saquon Barkley. The Eagles are going to feed the ball to Barkley. He’s got at least 17 carries in every game except the blowout loss to Tampa.

The Bengals could decide to load the box to try and handle Barkley. They would be daring Jalen Hurts to beat them. Hurts has been up and down this season as a passer. Cincy’s pass defense is middle of the road this year. It is vulnerable on the outside.

A.J. Brown is poised for a big game against the vulnerable Bengals outside coverage

Brown has tallied 292 receiving yards when lined up outside this season, ranking 13th among WRs. The Bengals defense has struggled in defending outside receivers, ranking 25th in yards allowed pic.twitter.com/GK2KYtnNIU

— PFF PHI Eagles (@PFF_Eagles) October 26, 2024

This might be a good week to put Jahan Dotson in the slot and get the ball to Brown and DeVonta Smith on the outside. If you want to throw on the Bengals, you have to block DE Trey Hendrickson. He’s got 7 sacks and 15 QB hits. Fred Johnson will be making his second start at LT. He’ll have the challenge of controlling Hendrickson. Johnson was up and down last week. The Eagles coaches will help him out with TEs and RBs as much as they can, but Johnson will have to win his share of battles on his own for the offense to succeed.

The Bengals have 6 INTs this year so Hurts will need to be smart with the ball. Hurts hasn’t turned the ball over in the past two games so it will be interesting to see if he can keep that streak going.

Another game, another search for early points. The Eagles have yet to score a point in the first quarter this season. That will change at some point. This would be a good week for that to happen. You aren’t going to shut down the Bengals so scoring early and often would be a good way to go.

Burrow has thrown 14 TDs and only 2 picks. He’s playing at a high level.

.@browns really challenged @ bengals @JoeyB but in the end he made great reads; great throws to prevail and to to get 2W in a row….Next up @Eagles Can they stack #3 and climb back into the race? #whodey #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/GVy6gguYY1

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) October 22, 2024

This game will be a huge test for Vic Fangio, his pass rushers and the young secondary. Burrow is one of those rare QBs where you can have the right plan and he can still beat you. Fangio played a lot of zone and it worked well last week. We’ll have to see what he’s thinking this time out.

The Bengals have allowed 18 sacks. OT Orlando Brown is banged up, but will play. The Eagles pass rush has tallied 13 sacks in the past two weeks and will have another chance to make their presence felt. This would be a great week for Jalen Carter to have one of his dominant games. You don’t want Burrow stepping up in the pocket.

Rookie CBs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have been very good so far this year. This is the best set of WRs they’ve faced. Chase is a stud and one of the best players in the league. He’s averaging 6 catches a game and has 6 TDs already. You don’t shut him down, you hope to slow him down. Chase is outstanding after the catch so the Eagles need to tackle well. They did that last week.

Tee Higgins is banged up and listed as questionable. It seems like he’ll play. Cincy also has Andrei Iosivas and a pair of good TEs. Burrow will have multiple targets. You can’t just focus on Chase. That’s what makes dealing with them so challenging. The Eagles defense has been on a roll, playing well in 3 of the past 4 games, but this will be their toughest test. Is Fangio’s unit for real?

Cincinnati has dangerous return men so special teams could also impact this game. One of their returners is RB Chase Brown. He will have to get by his brother Sydney Brown if he wants a long return. It will be fun to see if Sydney gets a chance to tackle him.

This is a key game for both teams. The Eagles want to get to 5-2 and show they are a legit contender. The Bengals want to get back to .500 and stay in the middle of the playoff hunt.

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