The Cincinnati Bengals link up with old friend Brian Callahan on Sunday when they visit the Tennessee Titans in a Week 15 matchup.
Said matchup will see the Bengals hope to keep their comically small playoff chances alive with a win. But that has become background noise with Joe Burrow pushing the Bengals front office to keep Tee Higgins — and Higgins himself changing agents, linking up with the reps who…do the same job for Ja’Marr Chase.
That big detail out of the way, the game itself should see the Bengals sit in a pretty good position, provided they don’t play down to the level of the competition.
The competition is a Titans team that is 3-10 and losers in two in a row and four of their last five. Tennessee quarterbacks have thrown for 16 touchdowns and 13 interceptions all year, and a bottom-six defense coughs up 26.3 points per game on average.
That said, the Titans technically have the best passing defense in the league by holding teams to 175.5 yards through the air per game.
But that’s a pretty big technically against a wideout group boasting Triple Crown contender Ja’Marr Chase, plus Higgins. Unless the knee injury that Burrow suffered last week limits his mobility (he’s not even listed on the final injury report), there isn’t any reason to think his offense shouldn’t be its usual self.
Of note, left tackle Cody Ford, starting in place of the injured Orlando Brown Jr., is now a question mark for the game due to an illness. The Bengals could have a third-string tackle on the left edge.
Otherwise, even a shaky Bengals defense should be fine against a Titans offense that has scored more than 20 points twice this season.
Prediction: Bengals 34, Titans 20
