Bengals @ Panthers - Week 4 Preview

If you had told me during the preseason that the Bengals would be starting the season 0-3 I would have been surprised. After all, they had the Patriots in Week 1 and the Commanders in Week 3, a pair of teams that were picking in the Top 5 of the draft last April, those are not good teams and the Bengals should have beaten them.

Fortunately, Week 4 brings us a visit to the Panthers, a team so poorly run that they didn't even have a first round pick because they had traded it away (and it turned out to be the #1 Overall selection). Unfortunately, the Panthers have some life in them. After yanking starter Bryce Young and inserting his backup Andy Dalton (yep, that Andy Dalton) the Panthers proceeded to score more points in the first half than they had in the first two weeks, absolutely wrecking the the Raiders who were expecting an easy-ish win.

With Dalton having all the motivation he needs to come in and ruin the Bengals day, we'll have to see if this is a turnaround for the Panthers or if last Sunday was a dead cat (Panther?) bounce and the Bengals can "get well" this week.

Bengals (0-3) @ Panthers (1-2)

Kickoff - 1p FOX

Line - Bengals -4.5 O/u 46.5

Series - 3-3-1

Last Meeting - Bengals 42-20 in Cincinnati, OH on 11/6/2022

Andy Dalton Revenge Tour?

When Andy Dalton lines up under center later today for the Carolina Panther, only he could tell you how bad he wants to beat the team he quarterbacked for nine seasons. He's just too much of a professional to do so.

“It’s a great team,” Dalton said about Cincinnati. “Their record doesn’t show exactly who they are. Everybody knows what types of players they have over there and the success that they’ve had. So, you can’t take them lightly.”

Speaking for myself I think I might have had a few choice words for a team that benched me on my birthday, but I'm not Andy Dalton, he's not giving them anything. Instead, he's prepping to start for Carolina and after an off-season mentoring Bryce Young and getting him ready to be the Panthers starter, he's also empathizing with Young since he knows what being benched feels like.

Since being let go from the Bengals, Dalton has faced them three times. He's 2-1 in those games with four touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Top Pick to make First Start

When Trent Brown went down in Monday Night's game against Washington, Amarius Mims stepped into his spot. With the news coming down on Tuesday morning that Brown would be out for the season with a torn patellar tendon and the accompanying surgery, it was announced that the 2024 top pick would be taking over Brown's starting spot at right tackle.

Mims was solid in his debut with some good plays, some not-great plays, and some where he seemed a bit tentative or was surprised by the speed of the game. If he was taking over as the blind-side protector I would have more concerns, he is, however, taking over on the right side where he won't face the more athletic or speedy EDGE rushers on that side.

Bits and Baubles

Bengals - Usually solid and dependable end Sam Hubbard has been unusually bad this season. The culprit? A nagging hamstring issue that was suffered during training camp. He doesn't want that to be an excuse though - "I don't want to talk about injuries," Hubbard said Wednesday. "I think I could definitely play better".

Panthers - Carolina kicker Eddy Pineiro is now the 2nd most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history with at least 100 attempts (89.5%), he trails only Baltimore's Justin Tucker (89.7%).

Injury Report

Bengals

Trent Brown - OT - OUT (Season-ending knee surgery)

Sheldon Rankins - DT - OUT (Hamstring)

B.J. Hill - DT - Questionable (Hamstring)

Daijahn Anthony - S - Questionable (Undisclosed)

Tanner Hudson - TE - Questionable (Knee)

Panthers

Jonathan Brooks - RB - OUT (ACL repair)

Adam Thielen - WR - OUT/IR (Hamstring)

Jordan Fuller - S - OUT/IR (Hamstring)

Damien Lewis - OG - OUT (Elbow)

Dionte Johnson - WR - Questionable (Groin)

Robert Hunt - OG - Questionable (Undisclosed)

Fantasy Advice

Look for Tee Higgins' flop of a game to be more of a false start and watch him pick up an additional target or two with teams paying such close attention to Ja'Marr Chase

Chubba Hubbard has been on a roll the last few weeks (192yards rushing, 1 TD) for a bad team, holding off Miles Sanders. Will that be enough to hold off the soon-to-return Jonathan Brooks as well? Who knows, but having him as a backup-backup for any late-season injuries isn't the worst idea. Andy Dalton might be good enough to stash on your roster (if you have a spot) for later in the season or if you have an injury-prone QB.

Prediction

Bengals 27-24