New FSM Game Preview: Raiders Vs Bengals - Week 11

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FSM Game Preview: Raiders vs Bengals – Week 11

Las Vegas Raiders (5-4) | Cincinnati Bengals (5-4)

The Las Vegas Raiders will be home at Allegiant Stadium to welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to town as the two AFC teams do battle in the desert.

Last Sunday, the Las Vegas Raiders remained home after their Sunday Night Football loss to their division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs. However, they will be taking on another AFC team in the Bengals, coming off their bye week, and looking to play spoiler to the home team.

The Raiders and Bengals have had a similar season so far as both teams are 5-4. Both are on two-game losing streaks. Across the board, their statistical output is virtually identical, and both are looking to gain respect for their respective franchises and fan bases after many years of letdowns and defeat.

The comparisons don’t end there, both teams are currently third in their division, and the Raiders are fourth while the Bengals are fifth in the AFC playoff standings. So as both teams look to get their season back on track, a win is crucial for both squads if they want to remain in a crowded AFC playoff hunt.

Two high-powered offenses will be looking to light up the scoreboard in Sin City.

The past few weeks have been a bit rough for the Raiders, both on and off the field. Sticking with on-the-field play, Las Vegas has struggled in maintaining a balanced attack. Quarterback Derek Carr has not been able to find his star tight end Darren Waller for a touchdown for four consecutive games, and the run game has still not gained its footing as Josh Jacobs’ biggest rushing total on the season so far is 76 yards.

With the addition of veteran speedster wide receiver DeSean Jackson, the team should be looking for more plays to push downfield, which can open up underneath routes of which fellow skill players can take advantage. Carr and the Raiders’ offense hums to a fine-tune when they can keep a balanced approach and pick their shots between short to medium passes with the every-so-often downfield bomb.

The Bengals have seen some new life this season as second-year quarterback Joe Burrow, fully healed from his injuries last season, has regained his connection with rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Burrow’s former LSU teammate leads all rookies in receiving category stats. Also running on all systems with a balanced attack, running back Joe Mixon has terrorized defenses with his ferocious running and play-making abilities.

While Chase has quickly become Burrow’s go-to receiver, players like Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are more than capable of making plays and causing severe damage to a defense. In addition, tight end CJ Uzomah has had a nose for the end zone with five touchdowns on the season. While the offensive line is not where it needs to be just yet, the Bengals have shown they can attack and put points on the board in high fashion and will be a tough match to combat.

The Raiders will need to operate on all cylinders if they want to keep up offensively with the Bengals, as the highest they’ve scored in their losses is 16 points. Finding the end zone more than twice will be a key to the Silver and Black getting back in the win column.

The Raiders defense will have its work cut out for them if they wanna earn a victory.

We can only ask the Raiders’ defense to do so much if the offense can’t do their part.

The team will have to pick their poison and take some chances as there are more than enough threats in the passing game to worry about, paired with a stiff rushing attack. However, if the Raiders can contain or even neutralize one aspect of the offense, they can find themselves determining how the opposing team chooses to attack instead of reacting.

As the Raiders defense has improved, a bright spot has been defensive end Max Crosby, who has three games with ten or more quarterback pressures. The rest of the NFL has three combined as a league. So, Mad Maxx has been wreaking havoc all season and will continue to do so alongside Yannick Ngakoue, who has had two sacks in three of the last five games played. With the pass rush finding its way to the backfield consistently, the back seven will need to make sure they take chances at creating turnovers and aren’t giving up big plays.

While the back seven has some new faces and made their improvements, the real change, and star of this defense is the defensive line.

The Raiders have struggled on the field, and we can easily link it to issues with the team off the field. Nevertheless, the season remains, and life goes on. This team needs to focus, get back on track and find that mojo that had them looking like a new team to start the year.

It won’t be an easy task when matched up against another team with talent looking to discover its own identity. But that’s life in the NFL, and each week is more challenging than the last.

“Just Win Baby”