Don't let the New England Patriots' 7-7 record fool you.
They're still alive in the playoff race and have a chance to secure a Wild Card spot in the playoffs with three games left this season. That will make Saturday's game against the Bengals a much feistier game as the Patriots try to avoid missing the playoffs for only the fourth time during head coach Bill Belichick's tenure.
Cincinnati will be just as aggressively fighting to keep its chances of winning the AFC North alive on top of potentially securing a top-seed in the conference if they can win out for the rest of the year. However, the Bengals will likely be without edge rusher Sam Hubbard and could be without Trey Hendrickson on Saturday as a lengthy list of players will be questionable for this weekend's game.
New England's offense has mostly struggled with quarterback Mac Jones and running back Rhamondre Stevenson, despite the latter averaging almost five yards a carry this season. Stopping Stevenson from having a breakout game, along with limiting Jones, is imperative for the Bengals' defense to remain successful on Saturday.
The Strictly Stripes Podcast crew breaks down the different angles that the Bengals' defense will have to attack this coming weekend. Plus, they're joined by AllBengals Sports Illustrated reporter James Rapien to evaluate each team's gameplans on both sides of the ball.
This podcast features Mohammad Ahmad, Michael Niziolek and James Rapien.
Music: Starfields by Hallman
Music Link: https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/nQ9ldbVF7D/
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