3 biggest questions for Bengals vs Raiders in Wild Card round
1. How do young, first-time postseason players perform on highest stage?
I am excited to see how this team performs being so young. Higgins, Burrow, and Chase have all played in National championships in college, which is a highly high stage with a lot of pressure, but this will be the first playoff appearance of their young careers.
Trey Hendrickson and Vonn Bell have probably the most experienced in the postseason after playing for the Saints the years prior. However, Chidobe Awuzie has also appeared in the playoffs with the Cowboys.
Seeing how this team fairs in front of the home crowd with a bounty on their backs playing for an organization that has not won a playoff game in over 30 years. But, that hasn’t seemed to cross Burrow and the team’s minds throughout the week, with all the tension, rising.
They have remained poised in their interviews, but we will see just how relaxed they are once they kickoff on Saturday evening. Will they rise to the occasion or fold under their first-time playoff pressure?
Either way, the motivation, and ambition are there from the Cincinnati side and I’d expect it to be there from the Vegas side as well. Derek Carr will be making his first career playoff start since entering the league.