The Bengals clinched their division. Do they have anything to gain by beating our beloved Jets next week? Is home field at stake for them or is that already out the window?
If they beat us, they get either Pitt or Baltimore in the playoffs, I think. Beating us would give them a chance to go 7-0 in conference.
Did the Falcons have anything to play for last week? Granted it's different as the Bengals do have a week after.
if the bengals don't have anything to play for theres a good chance we don't see much of the starters which is huge
they will be playing for the 3rd seed and if im not mistaken we play at 1 so they wont know if pats win or not to rest know if they are playing for anyone
It's different cuz the Bengals are thinking playoffs. If there's nothing for them to play for, you think they would not risk their starters' health for a pointless win. Just a thought. The Colts had nothing to play for this week and that certainly was a factor in the win.
I wonder what they will do if we are projected to play them in the first round. Will they play us tough or let us in?
As lame as it sounds, Falcons were playing for a chance at back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history. That's basically all Atlanta sports talk radio was talking about all week. With a win against the Bills today, they only have to beat TB next week to do it finally so they can shut the hell up
I think, if that's the case, they play us hard because there are teams they would rather face in the playoffs than the team with the #1 D and #1 rushing offense.
I'd have to think we'll see Larry Johnson and Carson's brother next week. He maybe even Schlegel will get some PT.
Major difference is that ATL played their starters the whole game. I'm sure Bengals backups will "show up to play" but that doesn't mean they will perform as well as the starters would
Disagree, if I'm Lewis I'm resting my players, especially because you don't want to show the Jets your whole playbook when you're going to face them in the playoffs a week later. 3v4 is too marginal imo to be worth playing for, especially when most teams will think the 5 to be weaker than the 6 (sorry, folks: it's the truth).
Bengals are going to care more about healthy and rested starters than 3 seed. Bengals could also play us back to back. I don't think that will make a big difference for them decision wise but playing a team with a rookie QB who basically laid out their game plan the week before doesn't sound unappealing.
I've got a feeling the Bengals would rather play us in the playoffs. I doubt they play anyone important after the first half.
