The 3-8 Cincinnati Bengals are basically to the point of the season where all they can do is play spoiler for other teams. With a short week, they play in Baltimore on Thanksgiving night. The Ravens have climbed all the way back to sharing the division lead at 6-5 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who will need to have a big game for the Bengals to come away winners in Baltimore?
Joe Burrow
Burrow is expected to make his return to the starting lineup this Thursday. While the record doesn’t show it, Joe Flacco played admirably filling in for Burrow since they traded for him. With that said, this team would have had a lot better chance to win late with Joe Burrow behind center the last two games. Some people will be rooting for draft position. For me, I will be gladly cheering on Joe Burrow’s return to the lineup. These players only have so many games in their career, I will choose to enjoy watching a player of his caliber, as long as I possibly can.
McKinley Jackson
Jackson has gone from inactive to looking like a very solid rotational defensive tackle over the past couple of weeks. During his nineteen snaps played on Sunday, he graded out as one of the top players on the defense, per PFF. He had an overall grade of 81.2. His run defense grade of 71.3 was the third-best among the defensive linemen. The two others above him were Joseph Ossai (77.1) and BJ Hill (71.9). The Bengals will be going up against the rushing attack of Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the rest of the Baltimore running game. They will need Jackson, along with the rest of the defensive line to step up in a big way.
Kris Jenkins
Sticking with second-year defensive tackles, Kris Jenkins will need to help contain Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson. He was drafted because of his ability to help stop the run while at Michigan. That has been inconsistent for the majority of his two seasons with the Bengals so far. Jenkins did produce three pressures during the game against the New England Patriots. In another lost season, hoping to see some of these young defensive players trend upwards is something to continue watching for.
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