Cincinnati Bengals: What to watch, key players for Week 8 vs. Buccaneers

Players To Watch

Cincinnati: LB Vontaze Burfict

Cincinnati’s oft-suspended big-money defensive leader hasn’t exactly had a great year so far. He missed four games at the start because of suspension, and in the three since returning he’s put in his worst-graded performance by Pro Football Focus (subscription required) ever at 60.7. He’s been even worse in coverage and he was missing tackles like that was his goal against the Chiefs. On top of the play struggles, he’s also been dealing with a bunch of injuries.

This week, he’s getting called upon to cover those Tampa Bay tight ends. Burfict may be the slowest starting linebacker in the NFL, and he’s gotta keep Howard and Brate in check while he’s already struggling in coverage? This could get ugly.

Cincinnati has to hope Burfict is able to recover from his myriad aches and pains and get himself going. They paid him a huge extension just last year which was already questionable because of his tendency to accumulate fines and suspensions for his on-field conduct, then he added off-field issues to the table with his most recent one as well.

Getting beat by uber-athletic wideouts and runners is one thing, but if tight ends begin beating him like a drum in their routes too he may be turning into a near-unplayable liability who they may still be loathe to get rid of prior to his contract running out in 2020.

Tampa Bay: CB Carlton Davis

There’s been little which has gone right for Tampa Bay’s pass defense. They have allowed more passing touchdowns and passing yardage per game than any defense in the NFL to this point. Quarterbacks complete more than three-quarters of their passes against them. It is a terrible group which makes it difficult for Tampa Bay to win despite having such a strong offense.

There’s plenty of places to attack along this lineup, but the player who may turn out to be most important for the Bucs here will be their 2018 second-round selection at cornerback.

Davis was marked in his NFL.com draft profile as instant-starter material. He has great size and length (6-1, 32.75-inch wingspan), is physically disruptive, and crowds receivers in a manner which can undermine them ever finding a rhythm or getting free space on a route. Unfortunately for him (and Tampa Bay), this can get used against him. He’s very grabby and can be forced into defensive pass interference penalties. Throw in inconsistent tackling, and he’s a terrific mark to send your best receiving options towards.

Cincinnati has two of them ready to eat Davis alive. Green is of course of of the league’s top receivers; he’d relish putting on a show against a rookie. Boyd wouldn’t be a picnic, either; he’s grown into the sort of player who can force openings against an overeager young defender in key situations.

Because of the athletic profile, Davis likely gets the matchup with Green (with help over the top, obviously), but no matter who he spends time on his play against them could determine the nature of how this game plays out: doing poorly means a shootout, but doing well could upend Cincinnati’s attack often enough in a shootout to give Tampa Bay’s offense the advantage.

Prediction

Two weeks of tough losses in bad matchups has left Cincinnati flailing; if they don’t get control of themselves in the preparation for this game, they’re setting themselves up for an upset against the firepower the Buccaneers bring to the table.

Prior to this two week dropoff though, these Bengals appeared to have a new and improved demeanor, one which had allowed them to survive through multiple weeks of difficult circumstances to come away with four wins in their first five contests.

They came up with timely plays late to beat the Colts and Ravens, kept steady enough after Tyler Eifert suffered another gruesome injury to make a game-winning touchdown drive against Atlanta, and came back from a 17-0 deficit to win 27-17 against the Miami Dolphins.

The question for who will win this week will be decided by whether Cincinnati’s seemingly steeled mindset has been broken by a couple tough weeks. My belief is that while Cincinnati is proving to not quite be on the level of the elites in the conference, they are good enough to compete with and beat just about anyone else.

Tampa Bay has explosive tendencies, but is also somewhat mistake-prone on offense and eminently beatable on defense. Cincinnati should be able to put up points, and if their defense can come away with a couple turnovers like they did earlier this season (it shouldn’t be too difficult with Jameis Winston behind center; he’s bound to put a handful of interception-worthy passes in the air) they should win handily. Though the score could end close, I think that’ll be more due to garbage-time scoring than anything; Cincinnati is the better team and will prove it.

Final Score: Cincinnati 31, Tampa Bay 24

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