Playoff mentality.
The Cincinnati Bengals still have a chance of making the NFL Playoffs, but not if they can’t care of business this weekend. Here is what they need to do to beat the Cleveland Browns.
Come Out Swinging
The Bengals need to score early and often for a few reasons. First and foremost is their defensive struggles. They need to score fast because they just might need to score a lot. Second, this will force the Browns to play from behind, taking away their running game putting the game on the arm of Dorian Thompson-Robinson. That would be advantageous.
Create Turnovers
The NFL rules are not designed for defenses to pitch shutouts anymore. Playing defense in the modern game is all about turnovers. The Bengals must figure out how to create as many turnovers as possible. They did a fantastic job of this last week. It needs to become the norm.
Protect the Franchise
Myles Garrett may be looking for an exit this offseason, but this weekend he will be looking to get into the backfield. It looks like Orlando Brown could make a triumphant return to the lineup, which is good, but it’s still Myles Garrett. I loved the way they helped Amarius Mims out with Micah Parsons a few weeks ago. I am usually anti-chip block, but Drew Sample seems to have it down. That should definitely be a big part of the game plan.
Joe to Ja’Marr and Tee
The Browns have some big injuries in the secondary that need to be exploited. Between Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, just throw it to whoever isn’t covered by Denzel Ward and I like those odds. Chase should eat from the slot. I also don’t know who they think is going to cover Mike Gesicki.
Playoff Mentality
The Bengals need some things to fall their way to make it to the playoffs, but this game is the only thing they can control at this moment. They must treat this game like it is already a playoff game, because for one Ohio team, it is.
