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Up until this point, the Chargers have had one of the weakest schedules in the league. This wouldn’t mean much for earlier iterations of the Bolts, as they made a reputation for themselves as a team that frequently played down to the level of their competition and frequently fell victim to “trap games” and underdog victories, but Jim Harbaugh made a point of doing away with the “Chargering” verb in the offseason, and has so far made good on that vision. His squad has beaten (most) of the teams they should beat, and competed vigorously against some of the NFL’s team top teams. Now, they set out to survive a 5-game gauntlet featuring premiere talent with very little room for reprieve between these hurdles.
Week One of this stretch starts at home, with Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals preparing to face off against Justin Herbert’s Chargers in the Sunday Night lights. The Bengals have been on an absolute tear on offense lately, so the obvious storyline will be whether or not Jesse Minter’s NFL-leading scoring defense can continue to slow the game down and keep the point totals low. Although Justin Herbert has certainly been in his fair share of offensive shootouts and has the skills to come out on top in such a scenario, Jim Harbaugh’s first goal has to be to control the game and focus on the Bengals adjusting to the Chargers game speed, and not requiring Justin Herbert to play catch-up with a downfield aerial attack, led by the Burrow-Ja’Marr Chase connection.
The Bengals have not been strong defensively, falling to a 4-6 record despite some incredible offensive performances. They’ve managed to score an average of 38 points in their last two games, but only went 1-1 in that short span. The only teams they have held to less than 20 points are the Patriots, Giants, and Browns. A very key element of this game will succeeding on the ground with not just one running back, but with both. Look for Gus Edwards to build off a very productive, punishing performance against the Titans on Sunday, and for J.K. Dobbins to gain some explosives when the offensive line has the defensive front on their heels. This is a game where Greg Roman and Jim Harbaugh’s vision of dictating the pace of the game with a balanced running attack, and allowing it to open some chunk gains downfield off play action.
StormCloud, sound off in the comments any general observations or thoughts you have about this game in the comments below!
You’ve said it, Kyle. Hit them with the ground and pound with a heavy doze of Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins since they can stack the line and let Herbert pick them apart. If the OL can block like they did against a good Titans’ IDL, the running game should control the Bengals’ defense which also controls their offense by limiting them to 10 offensive possessions (drives), keeping Burrow and his star wide receivers on the sideline.
Defensively, the coverage must hold enough for the pass rush to pressure Burrow. This is a big ask of the DB’s to cover Chase and Higgins. Hopefully Fulton is suiting up for this match and that his hammy isn’t going to hold him back. Chase & Higgins must be pressed at the line and don’t allow them to get off to a free release, and Chase can’t be allowed to catch any short throws on the run. He’s the best WR out there right now. If Mack isn’t 90%, hopefully Bosa’s health is better on Sunday than last Sunday for this game. Tuli must remain steady and keep his streak of consecutive strong games. Bud to keep on the gas pedal but stay smart and disciplined in setting the edge. Minter won’t send any blitzes unless the pass rushers can’t generate enough pressure. If they can get to Burrow 4 times without secondary blitzes, this game won’t be as close as many have predicted.
I think putting up at least 7 points in the first quarter will be important. The Bengals defense has been in some shootouts lately. If we can establish an early lead, we can grind the game down on offense and force them to be one dimensional to play catch up. Especially with how bad the defense is, if they get down 9+ points in the first half, there could be a lot of 3 and outs for them trying to get big plays over the top to have short scoring drives because the clock will be a factor and that would feed right into our hands. Higgins might play, so that is something to watch. Their offense has been considerably more effective and efficient when he has played. I feel confident as long as we can continue to be balanced on offense.
The last injury report has Mack and Leonard as questionable. The good news is that no one else has a designation. Pipkins practiced fully on Friday, so we’ll see who starts at RG.
I have been been more anxious and excited for this game than I have been in a long time. A win against the Bengals would go a long way to giving the team momentum and belief during the coming “tough stretch.”
I’m a little bummed that it’s against Cincinnati as that’s the town where I met my gorgeous neighbor nearly twenty years ago. One of our early dates was to Paul Brown to watch them beat Washington. Good news, she’s learned how to Bolt Up through the years, so our mid-game shouting will be in the same direction.
The Raiders are terrible. Wonder how long Pierce & Telesco last. I hope they give them a bunch of rope. I’m enjoying watching them suck ass.
Family. Trust. Respect.
The Jets are terrible as well. What a series of bad decisions by the leadership of that team. Very pre-2024 Spanos.
Jets and Raiders are absolute jokes. I was kind of hoping they each could’ve stolen a win today to bury the Colts and Dolphins, plus I’d love to see them be messes and miss out on a top-5 pick, but any day the Raiders lose is a good day. But let’s hope Telesco stays their GM for a decade. We’ve all seen the magic that dude can work.
Well we know he definitely can ruin a team for a decade. Hopefully they keep both or at least Telesco. Let him pick the next coach. Hey, maybe he can hire Staley again.
I, for one, am looking forward to the Raiders hiring Deion Sander and drafting Shedeur. It’d be a wonderful circus.
That would be amazing.
Its funny how someone as outwardly straight-laced as Telesco enables a circus of an organization, while a goofy guy like Harbaugh creates a very focused organization. Each team is the polar opposite of the personality of its leader.
Mack out tonight. [Bites fingernails]
And the Chiefs land with a thud. Finally.
Best teams in the AFC right now:
Bills
Steelers
Ravens
Chiefs
Chargers
Broncos (yuck)
Texans
Bengals
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