The elephant in the room

[KillerGoose]

(02-07-2022, 09:32 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: This is actually pretty accurate.  The best defense the Bengals have faced all season was probably KC with the Titans a close 2nd.  I think both of those defenses, especially the way the Titans match up, are similar to that of the Rams.

The Bengals offense struggled the most against Tennessee of all their opponents over the last six weeks, and they are built kind of like the Rams.  However, since the Bengals were able to overcome the sacks and beat the Titans, I think it will feel a bit more like the second time facing the Titans and we all know Joe's record against a team for the second time.  He has seen so much from opposing defenses and he is learning on the fly.

The Rams defense that I saw against the Cardinals was downright scary.  Murray is incredibly mobile and he got destroyed.  No time to throw, seemingly blitzing every down.   Cards had no answer.   That is the game that gives me the most concern.  I know Joe can read a defense faster, but the Bengals HAVE to have a quick checkdown or one-on-one deep shot answer in these situations.  I hope the Bengals are the aggressor and come out firing and use the run later to sustain drives once the Rams are worried so much about the pass that they are pulling their safeties back. 

The Rams have a more formidable defense than the Chiefs do and it's because of their pass rushers and corners. Specifically, their big three (Donald, Miller and Ramsey).  This game isn't a huge mismatch or anything, though - while the Rams are better on both sides of the ball, it isn't a huge difference. Here is a visualization of where each team is...



This includes playoff performances. So, the Rams and Bengals are very similar on offense, but the Rams have a notably better defense than Cincinnati. While their defense isn't all-world, it is just a bad matchup because of Cincinnati's porous OL and the Rams pass rushing specialties. That's about it, though. I would say that Cincinnati has a better chance of beating LA than they had against KC.