Tyrann Mathieu
The whole 'Burrow and Chase's return to Louisiana' storyline this game has going has sort of overshadowed another former LSU player's reunion with the Bayou.
Mathieu has fit through five games in rather nicely after his return back to New Orleans, already having 26 tackles on the season with an interception, and he's allowed just a 41.7 passer rating when targeted this season. All of this has earned him a PFF grade of 75.2, which is pretty good.
In short, the Honey Badger could be a real game-wrecker for the Bengals, whose offense has looked extremely inconsistent and, at times, completely dead for long stretches. Mathieu is definitely someone to keep your eye on throughout the game because he could make a game-changing play at any time.
Cameron Jordan
Even as he's likely nearing the end of his career, Jordan is still a dominant end that can fight his way to the quarterback. The 7x Pro Bowler (including a current streak of five seasons in a row of being selected to the Pro Bowl) has already been able to get in the backfield more than a few times this season, recording 3.0 sacks and six pressures through five games. On top of that, he's gotten a sack (or at least half a sack) in the last three games.
He's been a force on the Saints' D-Line for a long time (in fact he's fast approaching the Saints' all-time sack record), and he's hardly shown any signs of slowing down after coming off a year where he had 12.5 sacks, and he's well on pace to match or maybe come just short of that sack total this year.
Cam Jordan was great yesterday. Made so many impact plays when the defense needed him most.
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) October 10, 2022
The Bengals' offensive line has improved quite a bit since the first two games, only allowing six the last three weeks after giving up 13 in the first two games. However, they'll have to really prove themselves and hold strong against Jordan and the rest of the Saints' Defensive Line to give Burrow a clean pocket and (hopefully) win this game.
Jordan could have the most direct impact on this game, negatively, for the Bengals. If he can provide constant pressure and bring Burrow down a couple of times, it'll be a hard blow to a Cincy offense that hasn't been able to consistently get into the end zone all year.
Which members of the Saints roster are you the most concerned about heading into this matchup?