Hello, December football.
The Cincinnati Bengals are now 7-4 and escape the month of November with a close 20-16 road win over the Tennessee Titans. After a dismal first half from Cincinnati's offense, quarterback Joe Burrow started finding a groove even as he was without Ja'Marr Chase for the fourth straight game this season.
Defensively, the Bengals accomplished the very tall task at hand of shutting down "King Henry." Titans running back Derrick Henry had nowhere to run or hide for most of the day as Cincinnati's defense showed no mercy to the league's leading rusher.
Without Chase, Burrow found rhythm with tight end Hayden Hurst and wide receiver Tee Higgins who respectively did what they needed to do to keep Cincinnati pressing. Mix in the fact that backup receiver Trenton Irwin made another big catch like he did last week, the Bengals' utilized their already explosive offensive depth.
That also means you can't overlook Samaje Perine and Trayveon Williams helping combine to rush for over 100 yards on Sunday to cap off the Bengals' tit-for-tat win.
The Strictly Stripes crew is in the Music City breaking down why Cincinnati specifically needed this win as they prepare for an even more challenging Kansas City team back at home next week. They also hand out their game balls and explain how Cincinnati will look with the possible return of Chase and Joe Mixon.
This podcast features Mohammad Ahmad, Andrew Gillis and Michael Niziolek.
Music: Starfields by Hallman
Music Link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/nQ9ldbVF7D/
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