The Jacksonville Jaguars ran the ball for 200 yards against the Panthers in Week 1. Travis Etienne had 143 of those, with an incredible 8.9 yards per carry average. The Bengals allowed only 49 yards and 2.0 yards per carry against the Cleveland Browns.
Stopping the run again this week will be paramount in pulling out a victory. Here are three Bengals to watch for this week that could be flying under the radar.
Mike Pennel
Mike Pennel was one of my under-the-radar players for last week. I am putting him back on here again for this game. Pennel was officially signed to the 53-man roster earlier this week after an impressive debut. He recorded four tackles against the Browns.
TJ Slaton, BJ Hill, and Kris Jenkins will be the other defensive tackles rotating throughout this game. They will all be tasked with making sure they hold the Jaguars ground game in check.
Cam Taylor-Britt struggled throughout the Browns game. Zac Taylor did not make it sound like he will have a long leash if things start poorly again this week.
Josh Newton
My second under-the-radar player for this game is going to be Josh Newton. He will be in line for an increase in snaps if Taylor-Britt is benched. Newton played just 29 snaps in comparison to 74 snaps for Taylor-Britt. Those roles could be reversed this week if things start out poorly. Newton had a 64.8 coverage grade per PFF in Week 1. Taylor-Britt had a 36.3 coverage grade in comparison.
Newton is a competitive corner that the Bengals have been high on since drafting him in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft. Newton had seven career interceptions for TCU in college. Getting one against Trevor Lawrence this week could play a big part in getting the victory for the Bengals.
Samaje Perine
Samaje Perine is the third under-the-radar player who could be impactful in coming out with a victory this week. Perine played just 13 snaps in comparison to 39 for Chase Brown. Brown is obviously still going to get the majority of that snap share, as he should. I could see the number for Perine ticking up slightly this week, though. Keeping Brown fresh during the game and the season will be important for the Bengals’ playoff aspirations.
Perine is a veteran that the Bengals coaches clearly have trust in to be the primary backup to Chase Brown at this time. He is effective in pass protection and a reliable pass-catching weapon out of the backfield. He recorded an 80.9 pass block grade last week. He also contributed with two receptions in the game. One of those was a critical third-down catch that kept the Bengals’ second touchdown scoring drive alive.
Perine protecting for Joe and picking up a tough first down or two throughout the game could end up being critical in beating the Jaguars.
Who else do you think could be an under-the-radar player that stands out this week against the Jags?
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