Even though the Bengals are still under .500 at 3-4, there is tangible, genuine hope. A fan had a sign in the stands last Thursday night that read “In Joe 2.0 we trust.” What times we are living in.
The Bengals have momentum again after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday night. It’s a win that got their season back on track and got them to 2-0 in the AFC North.
But with this momentum, the Bengals cannot afford to come close to stubbing their toes against the New York Jets. They’re playing at home this week with Dave Lapham and Lemar Parrish getting enshrined in the Bengals Ring of Honor. There is no reason not to go out and keep the momentum rolling by rolling a New York Jets team that is simply awful.
Let’s take a look at the Jets and the keys to the game Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium.
Quarterback
It’s been well-documented this week that Jets head coach Aaron Glenn isn’t naming his starting quarterback for Sunday’s game.
That is, until Saturday came when the Jets announced Justin Fields would start and Tyrod Taylor would be out due to a knee injury.
Fields will pose a threat to run the ball. The Bengals have struggled with running quarterbacks in recent seasons, and tackling in space has been a major issue for their defense so far this season.
Two Players to Watch on the Jets
Normally, we highlight four players to watch in this section each week. But because wide receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner are out for the Jets this week, and they were the two biggest players to watch before being ruled out for Sunday, we’ll highlight the other two players that are worth watching on Sunday on the New York Jets.
1. No. 20: Running Back, Breece Hall — 5-11, 217 lbs. 4th Season (Iowa State)
Even though Hall is still searching for his first touchdown of the season, he still has 448 rushing yards through seven games. Hall has crossed 100 yards twice this season, but he’s only had 20+ carries one time this season.
Still, though, the Bengals need to put the Jets behind early so that Hall cannot make his presence felt. If the Jets are behind, they won’t run the ball and will go to their shaky passing game. That’s an advantage, Bengals.
2. No. 95: Defensive Tackle, Quinnen Williams — 6-3, 303 lbs. 7th Season (Alabama)
A behemoth in the middle of the Jets defense, Williams hasn’t had the numbers this season he’s used to putting up. He has only 1 sack and 7 tackles for loss, and 31 total tackles this season.
Still, though, it’s important for the Bengals’ interior offensive line to keep him from wrecking the Bengals’ rushing attack and Joe Flacco.
Head Coach: Aaron Glenn (1st season, 0-7) — 53 years old
To be fair, there was some optimism surrounding the Jets when Glenn was hired to be their head coach. Glenn played cornerback for the Jets from 1994 to 2001, including on their 1998 team that played the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship. It felt like he would bring a no-nonsense approach to the Jets as their head coach, but the Jets have not gotten off the ground this season.
Prior to becoming the Jets’ head coach, Glenn was the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2024. He was also the defensive backs coach of the New Orleans Saints for five seasons and an assistant defensive backs coach for the Cleveland Browns from 2014 to 2015.
Glenn had 41 interceptions in his playing career, a top 25 total since 1994. His 24 interceptions with the Jets are tied for the second-most in franchise history since the AFL-NFL merger.
Offensive Coordinator: Tanner Engstrand (1st season) — 43 years old
Engstrand comes over to New York, like Glenn, from the Lions. He was the Lions’ passing game coordinator the last three seasons, helping Jared Goff ascend into the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL.
In addition to his NFL experience, Engstrand also spent 14 seasons at the University of San Diego, including eight as the offensive coordinator.
As a player, Engstrand played quarterback at San Diego State.
Defensive Coordinator: Steve Wilks (1st season) — 56 years old
Wilks has been around defense for most of his coaching career. It was a coaching career that began in 2004 as the defensive backs coach at Notre Dame, before entering the NFL as the Chicago Bears’ defensive backs coach from 2006 to 2008. The Bears went to Super Bowl XLI in 2006.
As a defensive coordinator, Wilks held that role with the Cleveland Browns (2019), Carolina Panthers (2017), and San Francisco 49ers (2023). The 49ers went to Super Bowl LVIII in 2023.
Special Teams Coordinator: Chris Banjo (1st season) — 35 years old
Banjo is in his first season as a special teams coordinator, after spending the previous two seasons as a special teams assistant with the Denver Broncos. With the Broncos, he helped Marvin Mims Jr. lead the NFL in punt return yards at 15.7 per return. As a unit, Banjo helped his group finish again near the top of the League in multiple special teams categories last season, including field goal percentage (sixth – 91.2%), yards per punt return (first – 15.7), and opponent yards per punt return (10th – 8.7).
Keys to the Game
1. Do NOT play down to your level of competition.
This goes without saying. I don’t want a repeat of Week 8 of the 2021 Season on Sunday. If you know, you know.
2. Tackling
It can’t get much worse than it did on Thursday night, so it has to be better on Sunday against the 0-7 Jets?
3. Stopping the run
If the Bengals’ defense can stop Breece Hall from getting the Jets offense going, it is going to be a long afternoon for the Jets on Sunday.
4. Limit explosive plays
The good news is that Garrett Wilson is out. He is an explosive wide receiver. Still, though, Justin Fields can run, and so can Breece Hall. Limiting explosive plays will help keep this game from being any closer than it should be.
Score Prediction: Bengals 34 – Jets 20
If the Bengals’ defense is even slightly better than it was against the Steelers, and the offense continues the momentum it has created, this game shouldn’t be close. A win would put the Bengals at 4-4 and squarely in the AFC North race.
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