The Bengals come in at 4-2 after finishing strong against Baltimore, while the Titans sit at 1-6 after a 27-24 loss to Cleveland. On paper, Cincinnati looks like the clear favorite. But the NFL has a way of ignoring paper, especially when a team like the Bengals lets a game get loose early the way it did in the first half against the Ravens.
That’s why this week turns on a few specific battles up front and in space. If Tennessee is going to make this interesting, these are the spots where it has to happen.
Jeffery Simmons remains the kind of interior wrecking ball that changes the math for an offense. He already has 24 pressures and four sacks this season, and the Bengals will have to deal with him through both Ted Karras and Dalton Risner.
Karras has history with Simmons, including the infamous “up yours Tennessee” moment a few years back after a late-game scuffle. Risner, meanwhile, comes in off what looked like his roughest outing of the year against Baltimore, and his knee still appears to be affecting him.
Even a healthy version of Risner would have a tough assignment here; one still working through injury faces a real test keeping Simmons from taking over the middle of the line.
Another key clash lands on the edge, where Jermaine Johnson will line up against Amarius Mims. Johnson, acquired by Tennessee from the New York Jets this offseason, has produced 21 pressures and three sacks so far.
Mims, though, has been a problem for pass rushers all year. He’s allowed only four pressures through six games, which is a ridiculous number in this league.
That’s a brutal matchup for Johnson, and Mims has done enough this season to deserve much more national attention than he’s getting.
The Titans also have one back who can tilt a game, and that’s Tony Pollard. He exploded last week against Cleveland, piling up 129 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns while adding three catches for 26 yards.
Tennessee’s offense has had its issues overall, but Pollard is the piece most likely to stress Cincinnati’s defense. The burden of slowing him down will fall in part on Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter, the second-year linebackers.
Both have taken steps forward this season, but missed tackles remain a concern. Carter is sitting at a 13.8% missed tackle rate, while Knight is at 10.7%.
If those two finish plays and avoid letting Pollard turn routine gains into chunk runs, the Bengals have a strong shot at controlling Tennessee’s offense.
Inside, Austin Schlottmann will be thrown into the fire against Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence is going to draw a heavy dose of double teams, as usual, but Schlottmann is one of the players tasked with helping keep him in check.
At 6-foot-6 and 300 pounds, Schlottmann has the size to stand in there, but the matchup is still a problem on paper. He owns a 45.7 overall grade from PFF this season, is 31 years old, and this is the first year he is expected to top 400 snaps.
That’s a lot to ask when the other man across from you is Lawrence.
And Lawrence has been on another level. He has 22 pressures and four sacks in just six games, and he impacts everything: the run game, the pass rush, and the flow of the entire front.
He moves better than players much lighter than him, absorbs attention, and still finds ways to make plays. He could be in for another huge week, and at this point that’s almost the expectation.
He belongs in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, because he doesn’t just play well - he makes the whole defense better.
In Other News...
Bengals Fans May Need To Rethink The Jonathan Taylor Dream
The Colts latest roster reset has only added fuel to a familiar Bengals fan dream, with Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner already moved for mid-round draft picks and Jonathan Taylor suddenly sitting in the middle of the conversation. From Cincinnatis side, the appeal is obvious. A proven running back would be an easy fit for a team always trying to maximize its offensive options, and any opening in Indianapolis tends to get dissected quickly around the league.
But the price tag is where the idea starts to wobble. With the Bengals still mindful of their salary cap and the rest of the roster to consider, paying premium draft capital for a back is a tougher sell than it might look from the outside. Cincinnati has not been framed as the front-line destination here, which leaves the door open to other Colts names or a different running back path entirely if the market for Taylor keeps climbing. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Suddenly Face A Familiar Pressure Spot Against The Titans
A trip into Week 8 brings Cincinnati to a spot it has rarely occupied under Zac Taylor: a heavy favorite with the expectation not just to win, but to win comfortably. The Bengals are laying 10.5 points against Tennessee, a number that reflects the gap between the rosters and the pressure that comes with being asked to dominate from start to finish. For a team trying to stack wins in a season that still has room to define itself, the spread is its own kind of measuring stick.
The tricky part is that this kind of setup has not always been kind to Cincinnati. The Bengals have had a hard time cashing in as double-digit favorites over the years, and their recent history in those spots has not exactly inspired confidence even when the matchup looks favorable on paper. Taylor and Joe Burrow have generally handled the role of favorite well against the spread, but this one carries the kind of familiar pressure that can make a supposed mismatch feel a little less simple once the game starts. [Read more 🡒]
Former Bengal Is Outplaying Cincinnati's Defensive Centerpiece Right Now
The Bengals made a major move by trading their 10th overall pick for Dexter Lawrence, banking on his presence to help stabilize the middle of the defense. It was the kind of transaction aimed at raising the ceiling of a unit that needs difference-makers up front, and Lawrences impact has been part of the conversation ever since.
But there is an awkward twist in the early returns: D.J. Reader, the former Bengal now elsewhere, is sitting ahead of Lawrence among interior defenders in PFFs Week 8 rankings. And another familiar face, Trey Hendrickson, was back in the picture recently when he faced Cincinnati with Baltimore and raised some eyebrows with comments that hinted at a focus problem in the Ravens own locker room, a reminder that ex-Bengals keep popping up in the middle of the AFC Norths bigger defensive storylines. [Read more 🡒]