AFC Players of the Week! (Week 8)@JoeyB | @jsimms1119 | @thomasmorstead pic.twitter.com/X7iLg640hL

— NFL (@NFL) November 1, 2023

I usually enjoyed these threads in the past and haven’t seen them. With another big showdown coming up, I was interested and hopped over to their board. It’s a mixed bag of feelings from their fan base.

https://www.twobillsdrive.com/community/topic/250540-week-9-thread-we’re-on-to-cincinnati/

Wish we were playing the Cincinnati of early season. Unfortunately don't feel good about this game. Think their offense is licking their chops against our D.

I don't see a likely path where the Bills D is successful vs the Bengals.

The Bills offense better be excellent or it's going to be a long day.

If the Bills could somehow win, we would effectively bury the Bengals with owning the head to head and dropping them to 0-4 in the AFC. They would be in dire straits for both the division and wild card race. For that reason you can easily argue the game is at least as big for them as it is for us.

This is a game the Bills can win. I am optimistic about this one. I feel that the Bills have played poorly, have had bad injury luck, the ball hasn't really bounced their way, but the tide is going to turn on Sunday Night and a tough resilient Buffalo Bills team will actually be victorious.

Man, reading this thread, you'd think the Ohio Kittens were 8-0 and cruising towards Joe Burrow's 5th straight Superbowl.

we are trending in the right direction. I can guarantee you that our team will be clicking on all cylinders. I really think we are going to destroy these guys.

NFL.Com -11
Don't look now, but Joe Burrow and the Bengals are hot, with the offense and defense quickly making huge strides following a 1-3 start. Sunday's victory over San Francisco marked the first time this season one could say Cincinnati resembled a team capable of winning the Super Bowl. Burrow connected on 19 straight passes at one point against the 49ers, and the Bengals' defense forced three turnovers, holding the Niners to 10 points over the final 48-plus minutes. Getting Tee Higgins and Joe Mixon back in a little groove helped, and Cincy could have scored more, had Irv Smith Jr. not fumbled near the goal line. The Bengals are back, just in time for a huge matchup at home vs. the Bills on Sunday Night Football.

Bleacher Report - 9

Last Week: 10
Week 8 Result: Won at San Francisco 31-17
Here come the Cincinnati Bengals.
After a rocky start to the season that included a 1-3 record and a clearly hobbled quarterback, Joe Burrow and the Bengals have peeled off three wins in a row. The last two have come against the top two teams in the NFC West, including an emphatic win Sunday in San Francisco in which the Bengals looked a lot more like the Super Bowl contender we expected to see in 2023.
After the game, head coach Zac Taylor told reporters that he knew it was just a matter of time until the real Bengals showed up.
"This is what we know we're capable of," Taylor said.
Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase echoed a similar refrain, directed specifically at his quarterback.
"All you need to say now is, 'Welcome back, Burrow. Welcome back,'" Chase said.
For Cincinnati's star quarterback, it was just a matter of feeling like himself for the first time this season.
"I worked really hard on that all offseason and for four or five weeks I haven't been able to really show that," Burrow said. "So, when you see hard work pay off, it's exciting."
Seeing this complete of an effort from the Bengals should scare the rest of the AFC. But the Bengals don't get any time to bask in the glow in victory.
Sunday night Josh Allen and the Bills come to the Queen City.

Profootballtalk- 11
“Here they come”

The score - 7
For the second straight year, the Bengals have bounced back after starting the season 1-3. However, it'll be hard for Cincinnati to maintain its momentum, as the team has the second-hardest strength of schedule left this year.

Yahoo - 10
Maybe the Bengals are back. Those issues that seemed hard to fix a few weeks ago all were fine when they were dominating the 49ers' defense on Sunday. We can pretty much go forward assuming Cincinnati has returned to being a top team, though a Week 9 game against the Bills will be telling.

Fox sports - 11
Joey B. and the boys are back. It's one thing to win three out of four, but bullying the 49ers at their own place is an achievement of its own. Even if we think the Niners have taken a step or two back, this is still the most complete team the Bengals have beaten — and they got the job done on both sides of the ball. It took a minute, but Cincinnati finally looks like a team to fear.

USA Today - 10
They seem to be back, QB Joe Burrow looking quite spry and highly accurate Sunday as Cincinnati won for the fourth time in its past five games. But speaking of four out of five, the Stripes will face Buffalo, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville over the next five weeks.

The ringer - 8
Welcome Back bengals. The rest of the NFL made a big mistake letting the Bengals hang around over the first six weeks of the season, and now it sure feels like they're back among the legit Super Bowl contenders. Quarterback Joe Burrow looked healthier than he has all season, completing 28 of 32 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns against the 49ers. It was vintage Burrow—escaping pressure, scrambling for first downs, dropping dimes downfield. It was only one game, but given what it looked like, and who it was against, that victory felt pretty meaningful for Cincinnati. —Sheil Kapadia

Here's the top seeded teams right now...

1. Chiefs - Added Player
1. Eagles - Added Player
2. Lions - Added Player
2. Dolphins - Added Player
3. Jaguars - Added Player
3. Seahawks - Added Player
4. Ravens
4. Falcons - Added Player
5. Bills - Added Player
5. Cowboys
6. 49ers - Added Player
6. Steelers
7. Browns
7. Vikings - Added Player

.... Almost everyone except the AFCN added a player before the deadline.

Exra Cleveland for a 6th round pick really makes me wish the Bengals weren't so completely uncaring when it comes to trades.

?Joe Burrow Week 8 Analysis
?#TheQBSchool | #RuleTheJungle
?https://t.co/3LYVNIIfIp pic.twitter.com/E71pIt1kGd

— The QB School (@theqbschool) October 31, 2023

The main criticism of these looks is that we always give it Chase. Which is valid. We do appear to give the ball to Chase alot in these split backfield looks.



I agree with this and i agreed before that horrendous play VS the 49ers. It seems as if we’re doing it not to throw the D off but instead to get Chase a touch.

When Chase is in the backfield everyone knows we aren’t running him up the middle. So if you are gonna put Chase in the backfield i suggest doing it from the pistol where Chase lines up right behind Joe. At least at that point teams have to be ready to defend left and right both inside and outside. If you go a formation where Chase is to the left or right then everyone knows which way he’s likely to run.


It may be interesting to discuss why when we do it, it barely works but when the 49ers put Deebo back there, it’s usually a good play.

Is Deebo just a better runner?

Does Shanahan just call these plays in better spots?

Is the 49ers o line just better?

Do teams fear CMC so much they guard these formations differently than they guard our Chase in the backfield formations?


What you guys think?

I personally think there’s no reason to add these looks to the offense unless you are going to run a RB screen out of them 90% of the time. If we run Mixon and Chase in the backfield and motion Jamarr away from the direction the screen is going, i don’t see that ever being a bad play unless a defender gets lucky and reads it. So i like the formation but not if we’re actually giving it to Chase.

The TE position needs addressed, and we as a team don’t normally make mid season trades. Ebron is the type of player that might be able to give us some help in the passing game. Thoughts?

I have a trade proposal for Hunter Henry of Pats. Jackson Carman for Hunter Henry and Pats take on 3 million of Henry's 2023 contract for rest of year.

It likely won't happen, but I can dream.

I had to take a a minute to let Bengals nation know how amazing Trenton Irwin is as a player and a person.

The details may be a little off, but my niece and her friend met him at training camp a couple years ago and were instant fans.  He was so friendly and signed autographs.  A little while later, the girls were waiting at the stadium where players exit in their cars.  Trenton was one of the players to drive by and he stopped to talk to them and sign things.  The girls noticed that he had a fishing rod in the back of his car.  They went back down again, but this time with signs [somewhat joking] asking if he would take them fishing.  Trenton again stopped to talk to them and joked with them about the sign.  Then, unbelievably, he reached out to the other girl's mom and told her he wanted to take them fishing when he got back from San Fran.  So on Monday, he actually made it happen!

It's just incredible how he went out of his way multiple times to interact with these girls!  He made a memory of a lifetime for them.  It is so easy to root for this team with players like this.  Trenton made fans for life!