Panthers vs Bengals Week 9 preview: 5 questions with Cincy Jungle

Come check out an eerily familiar description of a team the Panthers rarely see.

The Carolina Panthers are poised to take on an unfamiliar opponent in a familiar position this week in the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are the current Super Bowl runner-ups, the has beens of yesteryear, in the midst of a disappointing campaign fueled by uncertainty at the wide receiver position and an offensive line that hasn’t been fixed since it, more or less, lost them the Super Bowl. Like I said, familiar.

To talk about those struggles and how this iteration of the Carolina Panthers might fare against them, I spoke with Anthony Cosenza of Cincy Jungle, SB Nation’s home for all thing Bengals. Read on to see what their plan is to replace the production of an injured Ja’marr Chase and what their expectations are for the rest of this season.

The Bengals offense appeared to adjust to the Ja’Marr Chase injury last week by, uh, being bad. It feels safe to assume that they will try something different this week against the Panthers. Who is Joe Burrow likely to lean on as they try to replace Chase’s production?

Yeah—I think the Bengals came in confident this week and just weren’t able to get the production from others. Unfortunately, the current iteration of the Bengals does not match up well with the Browns’ roster.

Regardless, this week, I’d assume there will be a lot of tight end Hayden Hurst and wide receiver Tyler Boyd. Sure, Tee Higgins will make plays, but I think the Bengals will want to grab safe, potentially-lethal yards-after-the-catch opportunities to those two in an effort to set up something bigger later in the contest.

Most outlets have dropped the Bengals out of the top ten in their power rankings this week. The team’s prospects can’t have entirely hung on Chase, what else is wrong with this team and does former No.1 overall pick Joe Burrow have what it takes to overcome those challenges?

In addition to the Chase injury, the Bengals seemingly lost their top corner, Chidobe Awuzie, for the season, while they also continue to wait for their top two run-stuffing defensive tackles (D.J. Reader and Josh Tupou) to come back from injury.

If all goes well, Chase should come back in a few weeks and the bye week after the Panthers’ matchup helps to expedite his return. Still, roster health was a huge key to the Bengals’ Super Bowl run last year and it’s just hitting them harder this season.

Oddly enough, most folks fail to realize that, with their 2021 bye week coming at the exact same time this year, Cincinnati was 5-4 a year ago. They have the opportunity to get to the same realm this year in a crowded division after this one. While they were 2-1 in the division last year, pre-bye, and are 0-3 this year, they had late-year and postseason runs to propel them down the stretch. If they get healthier and Joe Burrow continues to be “that guy”, they should still be in the mix by year’s end.

The rest of the injury news isn’t exactly great for the Bengals. Their defense is starting to sound like the Panthers with questions across the secondary and the defensive line. Which group is most hamstrung (get it?) by their current rash of injuries and how are the Bengals hoping to adapt?

Hamstring issues aren’t fun—puns or not haha.

Still, the Bengals’ secondary, which has been a strength this year, is having issues. Awuzie seems to be out the rest of the year, while Eli Apple may or may not be coming back from a hamstring issue this week. Slot corner Mike Hilton and swing corner/safety Tre Flowers has a hamstring issue of his own. Marry those with the fact that the Bengals haven’t made a move to this point (as of Wednesday night) to aid the losses and it’s concerning.

The Panthers decided not to trade away their best player in edge Brian Burns at the deadline yesterday, despite an offer of two first round picks on the table for him. The Bengals famously lost the Super Bowl last year because their offensive line was a paper tiger. Has that narrative changed at all for the 2022 season or should Burns come to the stadium with an appetite?

Yes and no. Cincinnati has four new starters on the offensive line since the one they trotted out for the Super Bowl in February.

Three major acquisitions came in free agency (right tackle La’el Collins, center Ted Karras and right guard Alex Cappa), while left guard has been manned by rookie Cordell Volson. It’s been a mixed bag, but the consensus is that the group has improved from 2021. If you watch Burrow, you know his brand of “backyard football” brings about a higher volume of hits and sacks than other quarterbacks.

Most of the sacks have been credited to left tackle Jonah Williams and running back Joe Mixon. Williams dislocated his knee cap and sprained a ligament a few weeks ago and has struggled since (as well as before). He’s been responsible for eight sacks this year, per Pro Football Focus. Mixon has been a liability in blitz pickups, bringing issues.

Burns will be an issue, to be sure, but the Bengals will need to bring additional assistance. Look for backup running back Samaje Perine and backup tight end Mitchell Wilcox on chips, etc. on Burns.

At time of writing, the Bengals are touchdown favorites at -7.5 per DraftKings Sportsbook. The Bengals might be shaken and hurt, but nobody knows what to make of the chaos engine that is the Carolina Panthers. Are Bengals fans comfortable with this spread or are they expecting a harder fight?

Cincinnati is wildly inconsistent. They’ve had a number of close-fought games already this year (three of their four losses have been by a field goal or less), as well as massive blowouts (win versus Falcons and loss to the Browns).

Predicting where they’ll be in this one (and others ahead) is extremely tough. Part of me thinks they’ll be hungry for a nice rebound and cruise into the bye—especially with a home game. However, Carolina’s offense impressed last week, and they’re likely revved up to get a win for interim coach Steve Wilks.

I would stay away from this game in general—particularly because of the unfamiliarity between the squads.