Gus Bradley spent the week figuring out how to rush the passer without his best player. “If you’re not doing it with four, you got to look at other creative ways to do it,” the Tennessee Titans’ defensive coordinator said, per Local 12, a day after Jeffery Simmons was traded to Chicago.
Bradley’s timing is rough. The Cincinnati Bengals have won two straight, and Robert Saleh called them the best team Tennessee has faced this season. Cincinnati also won the last meeting, 37-27 in Nashville in December 2024, and the last game at Paycor Stadium, 31-20 in 2020, per the Titans’ game preview. Here’s what should worry anyone in Titans Nation who hasn’t watched much of the Bengals.
Joe Burrow has eight touchdown passes in two weeks
Burrow threw four touchdown passes with no interceptions against Miami and again in a 35-13 win at Baltimore. One more would tie the NFL record of three straight, shared by Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford, per ESPN Research. He has 15 touchdown passes and three interceptions, and his 89.5 passing grade ranks first among 35 quarterbacks at PFF.
Tennessee ranks 26th in dropback success rate, we noted this week, and Burrow’s streak puts the Titans’ best defensive stat at risk.
Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase get a secondary already beaten
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Higgins had 148 receiving yards at Baltimore, all in the second half, and his 571 yards rank ninth in the NFL. Chase has five touchdown catches. Burrow’s passer rating is 130.9 throwing to Chase and 118.0 to Higgins, per the Titans’ website.
Tennessee has allowed three different receivers to top 100 yards, including KC Concepcion’s 129 last week. Cor’Dale Flott has interceptions in back-to-back games, but Marcus Harris’ coverage stung the Titans against Cleveland, and missed tackles turn Higgins catches into chunk plays.
Boye Mafe and Dexter Lawrence II lead a 21-sack pass rush
Cincinnati is tied for the league lead with 21 sacks, the most through six games for the franchise since 1995, per the Bengals’ website. Mafe leads with 4.5 (PFF credits him with five), and his 88.2 overall grade ranks fifth among 113 edge defenders. Lawrence has four sacks and the best pass-rush grade among 126 interior defenders at 89.6.
Cam Ward has been sacked once in the last two games, but he’s pressured on 35.5% of his dropbacks and won’t have Carnell Tate to bail him out.
Mike Gesicki keeps third downs alive
Cincinnati leads the NFL in third-down offense at 50.65%. Gesicki is a big reason, with a touchdown catch in four straight games, the longest streak by a Bengals tight end, and five on the season. That’s a problem for a Titans team that has been outscored 72-3 in the second quarter.
Chase isn’t overlooking anybody, either. “You can’t look at this game like they lost Jeffrey Simmons and not still be good,” he told Local 12.
More on the Tennessee Titans
- Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals NFL Prediction, Picks & Odds for Week 8
- Final Injury Report for Titans-Bengals: Will Carnell Tate, Tyjae Spears Play?
- Tony Pollard vs. Bengals Week 8: Four Expectations for Titans RB
- Should You Start Wan’Dale Robinson Against the Bengals With Carnell Tate Out in Week 8?
