Cincinnati Bengals: Keys to victory, players to watch vs. Panthers in Week 3
By Kenn Korb
Players To Watch
Cincinnati: RB Tra Carson
There will be no Joe Mixon for Cincinnati as he recovers from a minor procedure on his knee, so the running game is set to be in flux. Even without their best runner though, the team must find a way to at least hint at balance for their offensive attack. They do have Bernard, but while he can help as a receiver he isn’t a sterling option to turn to for pounding the ball up the middle and barreling through contact.
That’s where Carson can shine. In the preseason he showed that he can consistently power through defenders as a runner (4.0 yards per carry in first three preseason games; short-yardage touchdown in final one). He also showed he could make a play or two in the receiving game as well (15-yard catch vs Buffalo; four catches, 23 yards vs. Indianapolis).
If he can apply his power on runs up the middle, it’ll help keep Carolina’s defense honest. It’ll also exploit what may prove to be a weakness for them this year: through two games, they are tied for fifth-worst in terms of yards per carry allowed to their opposition (4.9).
If Cincinnati can successfully run the ball on them, it takes pressure off Andy Dalton and the passing game while simultaneously allowing the Bengals to control the clock and keep Newton’s ground-churning offense on the bench — letting Cincinnati’s defense rest and stay fresh in the process.
Carolina: LB David Mayo
On defense, Carolina loves to find ways to keep three linebackers on the field for their plays, even when offenses toss out three receivers against them. It makes sense most of the time because that often means they are keeping the most impactful defenders on their roster out there as much as possible.
Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis are still probably the best linebacker duo in the entire league, and while Shaq Thompson isn’t quite there he’s a 2015 first round pick whose gotten better each year and gives the team a three-deep group of athletically-gifted players at the heart of the defense.
As Cincinnati is surviving without Vontaze Burfict to begin 2018 though, Carolina is doing so without Davis. That has meant elevating another into the lineup, and that player has been Mayo. The fourth-year player has mainly been a special-teamer to this point (164 defensive snaps from 2015-2017), but while Davis has been out he’s the only linebacker other than Kuechly or Thompson to have even one defensive snap (he has 45).
If there is anyone to specifically target in coverage on the Panthers defense, it would probably be the guy who has little action in his history with the defense, so Mayo should expect to be heavily involved in how this game turns out.
Prediction
It has been a really solid opening to the season for Cincinnati, but this matchup doesn’t feel like it works out in their favor. Their current success against the run has partially come from playing teams which just aren’t that great at running the ball (Indianapolis is No. 28 in yards per carry; Baltimore is 30th). Carolina is clearly in a differently class there and will prove it.
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On the other end, with no Joe Mixon to put any life into Cincinnati’s rushing attack they will be hard-pressed to not be one-dimensional on offense from the get-go. That’ll play into Carolina’s hands, as the Kuechly-led group will shut down the middle of the field and give their somewhat-limited pass rush plenty of time and opportunity to break through a still-gelling (and plenty beatable) Cincinnati offensive line.
The Bengals won’t go down easy, but they’ll ultimately fall short.
Final Score: Carolina 26, Cincinnati 16