>The Bengals could have been more aggressive in their pursuit of advancing further than…

The Bengals’ pursuit of a deeper run could have been more aggressive.

A matchup between the teams that have won five of the previous six AFC North championships. The Bengals and Ravens were tied at 34 points after six quarters of this past season’s quarterback duel between Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the clear favourite to win the 2023 NFL MVP award. Burrow is 4-2 against Baltimore in six complete games over the past three seasons, with the

Elite matchup alert. Bengals three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase vs. the Browns’ glittering secondary that finished first in the NFL this season while allowing the lowest completion percentage, and fewest yards per attempt while finishing .1 behind the lowest passer rating.

he NFL’s two top sackers from 2023, the Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson and the Steelers’ T.J. Watt, have at it. Watt knows who he’s going after in Burrow, a guy he’s nabbed 3.5 times in his career. Hendrickson isn’t so sure. Mason Rudolph? Kenny Pickett? What we do know is that six of Hendrickson’s career sacks have come against the Steelers, his most against any team.

One of five teams the Bengals play at home who go into the offseason or playoffs with an uncertain quarterback situation (and seven overall if you count Pittsburgh but not the Browns.) Sean Payton, the old Miami University offensive coordinator, makes his first Paycor appearance with the Broncos. At last check, he won’t have Drew Brees with him. In his two previous appearances here as head coach of the Saints, Payton won both with Brees completing 85% of 54 passes. But this time Payton has to play Burrow, the NFL all-time completion percentage leader at 68%, ahead of the No. 2 Brees at 67.7.

The Raiders make their first Cincinnati call since the euphoric 2021 Wild Card Game when linebacker Germaine Pratt picked off quarterback Derek Carr at the Bengals 2 with 12 seconds left as Paycor historically erupted. For the Raiders, that was a couple of coaches and quarterbacks ago. They may not have a signal-caller, but they appear to have a head coach in Marvin Lewis disciple Antonio Pierce. Depending how it shakes out in Vegas, if Lewis is on staff it’s going to be the first time he’s at Paycor on the other sideline since his 16 seasons as the Bengals’ winningest coach.

First career matchup of 2020 Draft quarterbacks. Burrow vs. Jalen Hurts. They met as rookies in week three in Philadelphia, but while Burrow threw for 312 yards in a 23-23 game for Bengals head coach Zac Taylor’s only tie, Hurts was backing up Carson Wentz. Hurts did get a package of plays and ran twice for five yards. It could be Eagles center Jason Kelce’s second NFL appearance in the city where he played his college football at the University of Cincinnati. That 2016 game, where Andy Dalton (130 passer rating) outpitched Wentz (58.2), is one of Kelce’s 193 NFL starts.