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Week 10: Texans @ Bengals Game Thread


HoosierCat

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Bengals open as 9.5-point favorites.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/allbengals-insiders-plus/bengals-open-as-9-5-point-favorites-against-houston

Already down to 8 apparently.

I can easily see this game being trouble. Stroud is on fire at the moment and the Bengals have to play in Baltimore just four days after. And that's just the start of a chaotic schedule. TNF, then 1 pm Sunday vs. Pitt, MNF vs. Jax, 1 pm Sunday vs. Indy, then time TBD flex games in weeks 15 and 18, which booked two 4 pm starts against Pitt and KC.

Sometimes it sucks being good.

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It fits into a very classical "trap game" archetype lying between two primetime games against bigger perceived AFC powers (Bills and Ravens). However, in a weird way the Bengals might be better off this time given the Texans' game yesterday.

CJ Stroud had possibly the greatest single game performance by any rookie QB in NFL history, and that will make them very difficult to overlook. They're no pushover, and the Bengals will have to be awake to win. I am optimistic though. I think Anarumo is generally very good against inexperienced quarterbacks, Mike White notwithstanding, and the Houston defense should be ripe for exploitation.

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I did not see this coming -

Quote

 

Andrew Russell
@Andrew_Russell7
·
1h
In his first season playing RT, Jonah Williams currently has a 61.5 PFF Pass Block grade on true pass sets. 

That ranks 13th among RTs and 26th among all OTs.

 

 

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While we’re on the subject of pff grades, here’s an encouraging note from their rookie report this week.

Quote

PICK NO. 28: CINCINNATI BENGALS: EDGE MYLES MURPHY

Overall Rookie Grade: 55.5 (Rank: N/A)
Principal Opponent: Dion Dawkins
Week 9 Snaps: 10
Week 9 Grade: 59.1

Murphy had his most productive game rushing the passer against Buffalo. He collected two hurries and another pass-rush win on just nine snaps, beating Dion Dawkins inside on all three reps. That production led to Murphy finishing the night with a team-best 77.0 pass-rush grade. Opportunity is hard to come by with Trey Hendrickson having an All-Pro-caliber season, but continued positive efforts from Murphy will earn him more chances.

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-grading-all-first-round-picks-week-9-2023-nfl-season

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Quick look at the tight ends for the season:

Tanner Hudson: 8 receptions on 11 targets (73%) for 93 yards (11.6 per catch), 5 first downs (45% of targets), and 0 TDs. --> 3 games played

Irv Smith: 13 receptions on 19 targets (68%) for 83 yards (6.4 per catch), 4 first downs (21% of targets), 1 TD, and one fumble lost. --> 8 games played

Drew Sample: 6 receptions on 8 targets (75%) for 40 yards (6.7 per catch), 1 first down (13% of targets), and 1 TD --> 8 games played

Mitchell Wilcox: 3 receptions on 4 targets (75%) for 17 yards (5.7 per catch), 0 first downs, and 0 TDs --> 8 games played

The sample sizes are small, but it seems pretty clear to me who should be getting the majority of the opportunities in the passing game.

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One good thing about the upcoming weekend is that everything important is a 1 p.m. start. That means I can get back on routine and start drinking as soon as the alarm clock goes off, instead of having to wait until afternoon so I don't fall asleep before the game starts.

In further good news, barring a tie either the Clowns or Ratbirds will lose. I'm going to bet it will be Cleveland. Baltimore already beat them once and this rematch is on their turf. And I think I marginally prefer that outcome. It's not impossible for the Bengals to catch the Ravens, but the way Baltimore has been playing combined with their not-too-tough remaining schedule has me thinking that getting up on the Browns is more important.

And then we have Green Bay at Pittsburgh. The Steelers aren't that good but keep finding ways to win and the Packers suck, so I have little hope here.

As for the potential WC teams behind Cincy, the Bills host the Broncos on MNF. Bills should win that, pushing the Bengals back out of the postseason picture if they don't take care of business against Houston. Oh, and if Cincy loses they will end up behind the Texans, too.

Then there's the Chargers (vs. Lions), Jets (Raiders), Colts (Pats) and Raiders at 4 wins. So one of the Raiders/Jets (probably Raiders) will keep up. I have no hope for a hand from the hapless Pats but maybe the Lions can do us a favor. Chargers didn't look like all that last weekend, but they're at home, so...

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In a move that intelligent and insightful people all around central Ohio are cheering, CBS has abandoned its grotesque plan to air the Browns game in the Columbus market at 1 pm Sunday.  
 

Instead, central Ohio has experienced a cultural, artistic, political and economic rebirth.  That is correct, CBS will, as of Wednesday morning, air the Bengals/Texans game at 1 pm Sunday.  Thank god (though with the cultural and scientific renaissance we just experienced in central Ohio, we grudgingly admit there is no god).

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19 hours ago, Stripes said:

Quick look at the tight ends for the season:

Tanner Hudson: 8 receptions on 11 targets (73%) for 93 yards (11.6 per catch), 5 first downs (45% of targets), and 0 TDs. --> 3 games played

Irv Smith: 13 receptions on 19 targets (68%) for 83 yards (6.4 per catch), 4 first downs (21% of targets), 1 TD, and one fumble lost. --> 8 games played

Drew Sample: 6 receptions on 8 targets (75%) for 40 yards (6.7 per catch), 1 first down (13% of targets), and 1 TD --> 8 games played

Mitchell Wilcox: 3 receptions on 4 targets (75%) for 17 yards (5.7 per catch), 0 first downs, and 0 TDs --> 8 games played

The sample sizes are small, but it seems pretty clear to me who should be getting the majority of the opportunities in the passing game.

 Elite QB.  Elite WR.    The 2nd tier skill guys are very capable on this team.   The TEs are specialized for example: Sample's TD was off Max protect vs. man coverage.  When his guy added to the blitz on the outside, Sample released and Joe properly recognized it and Sample showed a good deal of athlete by getting in the endzone.    2 first down receptions to Tanner were off screen actions to Chase, the defenders jump the screen and Tanner fake blocks and slips in the secondary.    Irv's TD was direct result of Buffalo using 3 people to cover Mixon and Chase on the opposite end; leaving Irv to beat 1 v. 1 coverage.

My guess they'll continue to work all 3 these guys in based on their strengths and whatever mind games they are playing with the defense.  

 

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2 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

One good thing about the upcoming weekend is that everything important is a 1 p.m. start. That means I can get back on routine and start drinking as soon as the alarm clock goes off, instead of having to wait until afternoon so I don't fall asleep before the game starts.

In further good news, barring a tie either the Clowns or Ratbirds will lose. I'm going to bet it will be Cleveland. Baltimore already beat them once and this rematch is on their turf. And I think I marginally prefer that outcome. It's not impossible for the Bengals to catch the Ravens, but the way Baltimore has been playing combined with their not-too-tough remaining schedule has me thinking that getting up on the Browns is more important.

And then we have Green Bay at Pittsburgh. The Steelers aren't that good but keep finding ways to win and the Packers suck, so I have little hope here.

As for the potential WC teams behind Cincy, the Bills host the Broncos on MNF. Bills should win that, pushing the Bengals back out of the postseason picture if they don't take care of business against Houston. Oh, and if Cincy loses they will end up behind the Texans, too.

Then there's the Chargers (vs. Lions), Jets (Raiders), Colts (Pats) and Raiders at 4 wins. So one of the Raiders/Jets (probably Raiders) will keep up. I have no hope for a hand from the hapless Pats but maybe the Lions can do us a favor. Chargers didn't look like all that last weekend, but they're at home, so...

I'm leaning towards cheering for Browns.   Of course Bengals must beat Houston.   If they do, then they are tied in the loss column going into Baltimore on Thursday.

 

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3 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

One good thing about the upcoming weekend is that everything important is a 1 p.m. start. That means I can get back on routine and start drinking as soon as the alarm clock goes off, instead of having to wait until afternoon so I don't fall asleep before the game starts.

In further good news, barring a tie either the Clowns or Ratbirds will lose. I'm going to bet it will be Cleveland. Baltimore already beat them once and this rematch is on their turf. And I think I marginally prefer that outcome. It's not impossible for the Bengals to catch the Ravens, but the way Baltimore has been playing combined with their not-too-tough remaining schedule has me thinking that getting up on the Browns is more important.

And then we have Green Bay at Pittsburgh. The Steelers aren't that good but keep finding ways to win and the Packers suck, so I have little hope here.

As for the potential WC teams behind Cincy, the Bills host the Broncos on MNF. Bills should win that, pushing the Bengals back out of the postseason picture if they don't take care of business against Houston. Oh, and if Cincy loses they will end up behind the Texans, too.

Then there's the Chargers (vs. Lions), Jets (Raiders), Colts (Pats) and Raiders at 4 wins. So one of the Raiders/Jets (probably Raiders) will keep up. I have no hope for a hand from the hapless Pats but maybe the Lions can do us a favor. Chargers didn't look like all that last weekend, but they're at home, so...

I agree this is a sneaky REALLY important game for the Bengals to find a win. They need to win this. 

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It's extremely important. They can't go to 1-4 in AFC games with @BAL and @KC still looming.

Also, I am definitely rooting for Cleveland to beat Baltimore. Having the Bengals and Ravens tied in the loss column entering Thursday night essentially puts the Bengals in the driver's seat to control their own destiny in the division.

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Baby:

Bengals with a pretty lengthy injury report compared to most weeks. Among those on the list: 

DE Sam Hubbard (ankle) didn't practice today
WR Tee Higgins (hamstring) was limited. 
CB Cam Taylor-Britt (quad) was a full participant.

https://www.threads.net/@bbaby41/post/CzZm-51v4cy/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
 

Also chase was DNP

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  • HoosierCat changed the title to Week 10: Texans @ Bengals Game Thread

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