Record prediction for a Joe Burrow-led Cincinnati Bengals
By Aaron Burd
Week 10: Pittsburgh Steelers (Away)
Prediction: Loss 23-26 (3-6)
Week 10 marks the biggest monkey that Zac Taylor and the Bengals look to get off their back. Cincinnati hasn’t beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2015 and fans hope that things change against their most hated rivals in this new era of football in the Queen City. Although I believe the tide will change during Joe Burrow’s time in Cincinnati, I don’t expect it to happen in the first matchup.
Pittsburgh is a tough place to play in, especially if you wear an orange helmet with black stripes. If anyone can change the Bengals’ luck against the Steelers, it will be Burrow, but just not in his first-ever game in the rival city.
Week 11: Washington Redskins (Away)
Prediction: Win 34-19 (4-6)
This is quietly my favorite matchup on the Bengals’ schedule. Burrow gets to face off against Redskins’ quarterback Dwayne Haskins, the guy who beat him out for the starting job at Ohio State. This was the first domino that had to fall for Burrow to eventually be drafted first overall by Cincinnati. This is his chance to prove to the world that he deserved that starting job and to put Haskins in his place. Expect him to do just that.
Burrow should have his best game to date against a subpar Washington defense, fueled by his drive to prove that he was the best quarterback on the Buckeyes all along. On the other side, Haskins should struggle with the tough Cincinnati defense.
Week 12: New York Giants (Home)
Prediction: Win 28-13 (5-6)
Coming off of a big win in Washington, the Bengals begin to get into a groove with a second straight win over the New York Giants. Cincinnati has a better roster than New York at nearly every position on the field and they should build off of their previous victory to manhandle the Giants.
After a slow start to the year, Burrow and the Bengals finally start to hit their stride just before the last quarter of the season, setting them up for a potential playoff push.
Week 13: Miami Dolphins (Away)
Prediction: Win 30-28 (6-6)
At this point in the season, Tua Tagovailoa could very well be the starting quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. If that is the case, this could be the most fun game of the Bengals’ season. A battle of the top two quarterbacks drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft. The matchup we should have seen in the 2019 LSU vs Alabama game, had Tua not left the game early with an injury. Don’t be surprised if this is a shootout that goes down to the last seconds of the game.
In the end, Burrow gets the better of his rookie adversary Tua in what could be a showcase of two future pillars of the quarterback position in the NFL.