The Philadelphia Eagles will face their first AFC opponent of the 2024 season on Sunday, when they will make a rare trip to Cincinnati to face Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Here are our five things to watch.
1) Eagles LT Fred Johnson vs. Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson
While filling in for an injured Jordan Mailata Week 7 against the Giants, Fred Johnson got off to a shaky start, but he eventually settled in and played better. In that matchup, he was tasked with blocking the speedy Brian Burns. He'll have a much different kind of assignment against the Bengals, as Trey Hendrickson wins with power. Hendrickson has 7 sacks so far this season, shown here:
Hendrickson didn't do much his first three seasons in the NFL, but he broke out in a huge way in Year 4, with 13.5 sacks for the Saints. He signed with the Bengals in free agency, and has been by far their best pass rusher, collecting 14 sacks in 2021, 8 sacks in 2022, 17.5 sacks in 2023, and as noted above, 7 sacks already this season.
That would be 60 sacks since 2020, which puts him in some rare company:
| Player | Sacks since 2020 |
| T.J. Watt, Steelers | 66.5 |
| Myles Garrett, Browns | 62.0 |
| Trey Hendrickson, Bengals | 60.0 |
He is one of the NFL's most underrated, underappreciated players.
2) A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith vs. the Bengals' banged-up secondary
The Bengals' starting corners, when healthy, are Cam Taylor-Britt, Dax Hill, and Mike Hilton.
Hill was the Bengals' first-round selection in 2022. In 2023, he finished third on the team with 110 tackles and tied for first with 11 pass breakups. He also had 2 INTs and 1.5 sacks. Hill played safety initially for the Bengals, but moved to corner in 2024 and was the Bengals' CB2 before his season was cut short with a torn ACL.
Hill was replaced in the lineup by D.J. Turner, a second-year corner out of Michigan with blazing speed:
The Bengals list Turner at 5'11, 185, meaning that he is outweighed by Brown by more than 40 pounds. If the Eagles can get that matchup, it is one I think they would love to exploit. Turner has filled in nicely so far for Hill, but if I'm the Bengals I'm worried about him getting knocked around by bigger receivers like Brown. For example, Turner just looked kinda small and overmatched against the Steelers' George Pickens last season. Turner is No. 20:
When they're able to get that matchup, the Eagles should look to get the ball in Brown's hands on short throws and let him work his magic after the catch.
3) Bengals WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins vs. the Eagles' secondary
Like the Eagles, the Bengals have one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Before Thursday night's game between the Vikings and Rams, Chase led the NFL in receiving yards, with 620. Justin Jefferson passed him on Thursday night. The Bengals' receiving leaders:
| Bengals receiving | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Ja'Marr Chase | 39 | 620 | 15.9 | 6 |
| Tee Higgins | 29 | 341 | 11.8 | 3 |
| Andrei Iosivas | 14 | 189 | 13.5 | 3 |
| Mike Gesicki | 18 | 180 | 10.0 | 0 |
Chase's six touchdowns have come from distances of 41, 31, 63, 41, 70, and 18 yards. Wanna watch them? Here you go:
He has had DeSean Jackson-level big play ability this season, but is far from a one-trick pony, as he can operate effectively at all three levels of the defense and also break tackles.
Higgins is a 6'4, 219-pound possession receiver who wins contested catches and has outstanding body control. When he entered the 2020 draft, he was the player many Eagles fans decided they didn't want because his scouting report was a little too reminiscent of J.J. Arcega-Whiteside's, but he has become a perfect complement to the more explosive Chase.
And then there's Iosivas, a 2023 sixth-round pick out of Princeton who also has good size at 6'3, 205, and is developing into a decent third option for Joe Burrow.
"You start with Joe Burrow, Chase, and Higgins, those are big-time players at their positions," Vic Fangio said on Tuesday. "Top of the line. And they have been running the ball better this year. So they are really good. They scored a bunch of points against Baltimore. Lost by one point, I think it was 27-26 against Kansas City. They are really good."
The Eagles have faced other very good wide receiver groups this season when they played the Packers, Buccaneers, and to a lesser degree, the Saints, but this will be the secondary's biggest test so far this season, in my opinion.
4) Where might the Eagles go Feastin'™️? 🍗
When healthy, the Bengals' massive offensive line looks like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Orlando Brown 6'8, 350 |
Cordell Volson 6'6, 315 |
Ted Karras 6'4, 310 |
Alex Cappa 6'6, 312 |
Amarius Mims 6'8, 350 |
Brown suffered a calf injury against the Browns Week 7, and did not return. He was a limited participant in practice both on Wednesday and Thursday. Calf injuries tend to heal slowly, and Brown is a 350-pound man, so there should be some reasonable doubt that he may not play on Sunday. The Bengals' injury report on Friday will reveal more.
If Brown can't play, that LT spot is a major concern, as swing tackle Trent Brown and reserve tackle Jaxson Kirkland are done for the season with injuries. The Bengals would be starting essentially their fourth option at the position in Cody Ford, who filled in for Brown against Cleveland. Per PFF, Ford allowed a sack and 3 pressures in 16 pass block snaps against the Browns, though in fairness he was facing Myles Garrett.
Ford has mostly been a guard throughout his NFL career, and a backup at that. His career snap counts:
| Cody Ford | LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| 2019 (BUF) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 684 |
| 2020 (BUF) | 0 | 257 | 0 | 127 | 0 |
| 2021 (BUF) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 485 | 0 |
| 2022 (ARZ) | 0 | 318 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 2023 (CIN) | 18 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 2024 (CIN) | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| TOTAL | 55 | 575 | 0 | 688 | 736 |
Ford is similarly equipped to play LT as Joshua Ezeudu was last week for the Giants, which is to say that he is ripe for a Feastin'™️.At RT, Mims is a rookie who some (self included) thought the Eagles might be targeting in the 2024 NFL Draft as a future successor to Lane Johnson. Mims is blessed with a rare blend of size and athleticism, but due to injuries and a National Championship-winning roster at Georgia where he had to sit behind future NFL tackles his freshman and sophomore seasons, he had just 8 career college starts. He made sense for the Eagles in that he could sit for a year, learn behind Johnson, and eventually take over as the starting RT whenever he was ready. In Cincinnati, he has to start as a rookie, and may be a little green.On the interior, the Bengals have a trio of solid, unspectacular vets in Volson, Karras, and Cappa, who have a combined 226 career starts. Volson (43 career starts) is probably the most vulnerable of the three. PFF had him down for 5 sacks allowed both in 2022 and 2023, and 2 so far in 2024.
#FeastinMeter™️: The Eagles have 13 sacks in their last two games, so the pass rush is beginning to come to life. The Bengals are in trouble if Brown can't play, but it's also worth noting that Burrow has only taken 12 sacks this season, sixth-fewest in the NFL. We'll stay conservative on the FeastinMeter™️. 5 turkey legs. 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
5) Special teams
The Bengals have a dangerous returner in second-year pro Charlie Jones, who finished with 10.8 yards per punt return in 2023, including this one that he took to the house.
Jones also busted a kick return for a TD on the opening kickoff against the Browns last week:
The Eagles cannot afford a catastrophic play on special teams.
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