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Reeling Bengals Look To Roar Against Terrible Titans in Week 15

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The weary and reeling Bengals look to find their roar against a similarly terrible Titans team in week 15. Tennessee is coming off a miserable offensive performance against the hated Jaguars. Cincinnati delivered a late-game strike to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night that resembled a cartoon. The storylines of a reunion between these closely knit franchises will be delivered in spades as Brian Callahan hosts his former team. Can Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow prove that Tennessee made a mistake in snatching their former offensive coordinator?

Reeling Bengals Look to Roar Against Terrible Titans in Week 15

Bengals Offense vs. Titans Defense

When healthy, the Bengals offense can reach the league’s upper crust and stay there. Like most teams, ill-timed injuries at key positions have sometimes hampered the Jungle Cats. Joe Burrow is playing his tail off and should be an MVP candidate for keeping the offense afloat as it deals with a myriad of issues. Tennessee’s defense is also interesting because it is statistically a top-ten unit, but scoring defense has been abysmal. How can the Titans stop the powerful Bengals’ offensive attack with familiar faces? What secrets can Brian Callahan unlock for DC Dennard Wilson? The reeling Bengals team spirit will look to roar back into shape against a terrible Titans squad looking for the offseason.

OL vs. DL Matchups to Watch

The Bengals’ maligned offensive line’s most significant question mark is Orlando Brown, Jr., whose leg injury has forced him to miss several weeks. His replacement is veteran Cody Ford, who hasn’t been very serviceable. Cincinnati’s line hasn’t been up to par, and the offense has sometimes been stymied. The key matchup will be on the perimeter between these two lines. If the Titans can get to Ford and rookie right tackle Amarius Mims with Arden Key and Harold Landry, Burrow might be in for a long afternoon. The star tandem of Jeffery Simmons and T’Vondre Sweat is capable of handling business against the Bengals’ veteran interior.

Skill-on Skill Matchups to Watch

Tennessee’s secondary faces a formidable task on Sunday, as the potent duo of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will lead the show. Higgins may be especially motivated to put on a show in front of his home state team and possible future employers. They cannot forget about the underrated talents of Andrei Iosivas, who is also doing damage. Fortunately for the Titans, they employ several coaches intimately familiar with Cincinnati’s play style. Running back Chase Brown has been a revelation since Zack Moss was injured this season and Joe Mixon left via free agency. He provides another threat for the Titans’ weakened defense to contend with.

The Titans counter the potent Bengals offense with former Bengal cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, rookie Jarvis Brownlee, Jr., and a hopefully healthy Roger McCreary. In late August, Darrell Baker, Jr., proved quite a find for GM Ran Carthon this season. Safety Amani Hooker is the stalwart of the secondary. The linebackers have been a disaster, with Kenneth Murray injured and ineffective, Jack Gibbens injured, and new acquisition Jerome Baker not worth a return in 2025. DC Dennard Wilson’s stop unit is in a precarious position against an offensive unit like this one.

Titans Offense vs. Bengals Defense

Sunday’s meeting features a very stoppable force running into a force that can’t stop one consistently. Tennessee’s offense won’t remind anyone of the high-flying Andy Reid offenses of yore. Neither can the Bengals’ defense jog the memories of the 2000 Ravens’ elite defense. Which team can finally wake up and cause some havoc? Can the reeling Bengals defense roar back to life against a terrible Titans offense in Week 15?

OL vs. DL Matchups to Watch

The Titans’ offensive line, particularly on the right side, has been a wasteland of tactical ineptitude not seen since the days of The Great War. Right tackle has been a sore spot all season, with current starter Nicholas Petit-Frere being benched and starting again due to injury or his replacements being worse. Rookie left tackle JC Latham got off to a consistently good start, but his performance has tailed off recently. Center Daniel Brunskill has been barely serviceable in the absence of Lloyd Cushenberry.

With all that turmoil, the maligned Cincinnati defensive line comes to Nashville with one genuine superstar, Trey Hendrickson, carrying the lion’s share. He has 12.5 sacks on the season, more than double the total of the successive two highest EDGEs on the roster combined. If the Bengals combo of Kris Jenkins, Sheldon Rankins (if healthy), and BJ Hill can dominate the interior, Cincy has a shot to ruin Will Levis. Watch for career days for whoever lines up against NPF.

Skill-on-Skill Matchups to Watch

Cincinnati’s secondary is a mix of aging veterans and youngsters trying to leap into relevancy. Veterans like safety Vonn Bell and cornerback Mike Hilton anchor the back end. Geno Stone hasn’t performed up to his usual standards this season, netting a ghastly overall defensive score of 49.4 from PFF. It doesn’t help when emerging talents like DJ Turner and Dax Hill have been injured for stretches of the season. Cam Taylor-Britt is the name to look out for Brian Callahan’s motley crew of receivers. Losing the star linebacker, Logan Wilson has piled the pressure on Germaine Pratt to lead the inconsistent linebacker room.

The highly compensated Calvin Ridley leads the way while part-time touchdown machine Nick Westbrook-Ihkine does his steady work. Former Bengals legend Tyler Boyd has struggled to get any touches due to the heavily sedated Titans’ passing attack. Running back Tony Pollard has done yeoman’s work carrying this misfit band of joyless toys called the Tennessee offense. It will be imperative for the Bengals front seven to harangue the Titans’ rushing attack to force Will Levis into undesirable situations.

Odds and Ends

Tennessee leads the all-time series by a margin of 41-37-1 between these two old AFC Central rivals. They met last season in a surprising 27-3 Titans victory. Since Tennessee has transitioned to the Titans, they have met 18 times, with the Nashville outfit winning 10 of the 18. Cincinnati has won three of the past five meetings. In that span, the average margin was 21 to 18 in Tennessee’s favor.  Notable alumni of both teams include Hall of Fame receiver Charlie Joiner, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jonathan Joseph, Lorenzo Neal, and Quinton Spain.

Uniforms

Weather Report

Nashville’s weather is projected to be another dreary day on Sunday. Temperatures are predicted to reach 58 degrees, with a 65% chance of rain. The forecast calls for the wind to blow at 10 miles per hour in a southern direction. Both teams must battle the elements, giving neither club a weather advantage. 

Referee Referendum

Wrolstad’s crew has previously officiated a Titans game this season, calling 14 penalties, including nine against Tennessee. The game ended in a 27-17 loss to the Chargers in controversy. They have not called a Bengals game in 2024. In 13 games, this crew possesses the third most called penalties in the league, with 183 accepted flags. They also have the second most dismissed penalties, with 41. Offensive holding seems to be the crew’s favorite penalty to call, with 33 of the 183 being of that variety. Both teams’ offensive lines must be on high alert as false starts and holding dominate Wrolstad’s stat sheet.

Draft Pick Watch

According to Tankathon, the Titans hold the sixth overall selection, while the Bengals are predicted to select 11th. A win by either side will go a long way in determining the top ten of the draft order.

Main Photo: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The post Reeling Bengals Look To Roar Against Terrible Titans in Week 15 appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.