Cincinnati Bengals vs Buffalo Bills Gameday Report
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00:00 is going to be a huge, huge matchup. It really starts with getting an AFC win. The Bengals need
00:08 to get some AFC wins. There's so many teams. They're only one game behind the first place seed
00:15 in the AFC. And yet if the playoffs started today, the Bengals wouldn't be in them.
00:19 They would be, I believe it's the ninth seed, but the first seven seeds obviously get in.
00:23 The point is, is they lose a lot of tiebreakers right now. And I know it's early in the season,
00:29 it's still midway through all those things. The significance of this game is huge. One,
00:34 the bills are probably going to be in the mix for one of those top seeds, of course,
00:38 and be a division leader and all of those things. Two, you want to win that tiebreaker and you want
00:45 to win tiebreakers against some of these other AFC teams. Let's got to start with racking up some AFC
00:50 wins. And the next three games, including tonight, of course, are against AFC opponents. You got the
00:55 bills next week, it's the Texans. And then it's a very short week, Thursday night football against
00:59 the Ravens. Something I'll pay attention to and something that bills did on Saturday, but throughout
01:06 the week, they addressed their defense. Now they signed Josh Norman a few weeks ago, the former
01:11 pro bowl cornerback to their practice squad. They elevated him from the practice squad on Saturday.
01:16 They traded for Rasul Douglas, who I expect to be active tonight. And then they signed a defensive
01:23 tackle, Linval Joseph, and we'll see about him. I'm not totally sure one way or the other,
01:29 but it is interesting that the bills have made multiple moves defensively to try to address this
01:37 defense that is banged up. That is, I don't even want to say struggling necessarily, but they're
01:43 clearly beatable. And that's where I look at this game. And I think a lot of people haven't said
01:50 this Bengals offense should be able to move the ball. I expect this Bengals offense to have a
01:54 good game tonight. It obviously starts with Joe Burrow. I think Joe Mixon is someone that
01:59 people are eyeing, especially with the way the bills have struggled against the run.
02:03 That's probably why they go out and get a Linval Joseph. And so I could see him being active
02:07 today. Maybe he doesn't play his full allotment of snaps, but maybe he gives them eight to 10
02:12 quality snaps in the middle of that defense. We'll see. But I do think it's interesting that the
02:18 bills they're trying to piece together their defense a bit. And that's why to me, this offense
02:22 led by Joe Burrow, obviously Jamar chase, you have T Higgins, who to me is healthier and healthier
02:29 with every day that passes following that fractured rib, Tyler Boyd, all of those guys,
02:34 I expect big games out of them. I expect this passing game to get going. And obviously Joe
02:38 Mixon have holes to run through. What I think is interesting though, is the Tanner Hudson impact.
02:43 I'm not sure he'll start tonight, but I think he's going to be a prominent figure in this
02:50 Bengals passing attack and be someone that Joe Burrow not only trusts, but relies on.
02:56 And they don't need a lot from tight end. Everyone's talking about Hayden Hearst before
02:59 the deadline and CJ Usama before that, a couple of years ago, those guys weren't primary targets
03:07 on offense, but they, they were there when Joe needed them. And so whether it is Irv Smith,
03:13 Jr, whether it's any of these other guys, any of these other tight ends, Tanner Hudson, et cetera,
03:19 that's certainly something to watch tonight. The other thing, Stanley Morgan Jr.
03:23 was elevated from the Bengals practice squad on Saturday, giving them another receiver.
03:27 He's primarily a special teamer and we'll slide into that Tyson Anderson special team role
03:32 with Anderson, unfortunately on injured reserve with the torn ACL, but that means only three
03:37 safeties. So something to watch Dax Hill, Nick Scott, Jordan battle. Those are the only safeties
03:42 that'll be active or on the roster, but certainly active tonight. And the other element of that,
03:49 of Stanley Morgan, Jr. being active and being elevated from the practice squad,
03:54 maybe they use him in some obvious run blocking situations is a quality blocker.
03:59 Last week, there were some issues with wide receivers blocking on the edge,
04:02 whether it was for Jamar chase or just trying to get some of these weapons in space.
04:07 So maybe they lean on Stanley Morgan, Jr. They did that last year in the year prior.
04:11 He's been on the practice squad. Hasn't been active for a game yet this season,
04:14 but he will be active tonight against the bills. I expect this game to be firework show. I think
04:22 the bills are really motivated. Their offense should be able to produce and probably work in
04:27 some big plays. I think Dalton Kincaid is a big part of that. Dax Hill wasn't on George kiddo much
04:31 last week. I would expect the XL to draw more of a matchup against opposing tight ends this week.
04:38 The last thing you want to do is let Kincaid get going because that would open things up or make
04:43 life easier. Certainly on Stefan digs, Gabe Davis, any of their other weapons, James cook out of the
04:48 backfield, who I think is underrated as a pass catcher out of the backfield at running back.
04:53 So this is going to be a really, really fun matchup.