2022 Week 12 Game Recap: Bengals 20, Titans 16 (By Ross Jacobs)
This game is going to get looked over by many in the media because it wasn't a high scoring, exciting affair, but for those of us with an appreciation for the aesthetics of good football this was an absolute treat. It is such a joy to watch two very good football teams throwing haymaker after haymaker at each other, the constant give and take of adjustments, poking and prodding for a weakness...good football is a war and an absolute pleasure to watch. We only get a handful of games like this one every year and I like to enjoy them as much as possible because the quality of play is so much higher than the vast majority of other games. Both of these teams are among the league's best, both legitimate Super Bowl threats. I had some reservations about both, some questions coming into this game, but no longer. Neither team is going to be a #1 seed but both are absolutely to be feared in the playoffs.
The AFC is completely loaded this year. The Titans, Bengals, Chiefs, Dolphins, and Bills (if they get some kinks worked out and I think they will) are all championship worthy. I cannot wait to see them all do battle. Good luck predicting who makes it through that gauntlet...any one of them could win it all. The NFC by comparison looks much weaker. There are just 3 teams I could see making it to the end, the Eagles, Cowboys, and 49ers. One of those 8 teams is your next Super Bowl winner.
These two teams specifically will have very different paths to the playoffs however. The Titans have a couple more tough games, but they should cakewalk to 10-11 wins and a division title pretty easily because their division is so horrible. They'll be the #2-3-4 seed depending on what happens with Miami, Buffalo, Cincy, and Baltimore.
Cincy, however, has a much tougher road to the end, but this was a HUGE win for them, and since Baltimore lost to the Jags they are suddenly tied for the lead (albeit without the tiebreaker). Baltimore has a significantly easier schedule and should be able to hold on to the division by a game or so, but the ending is suddenly in doubt. If Cincy can go 4-2 over their last six games including beating Baltimore in week 18 then they have a chance. Baltimore is the weaker team for sure so it's no guarantee they can capitalize on their easy schedule. It's going to cost me a coffee to RC, but I'm rooting for Cincy to pull this off. They are a great team and deserve a division title.
*RC NOTE: One of our preseason bets was Cincy (RC) record vs. Indy (Ross) in 2022. Burrow vs. Ryan…like taking candy from a Ross :)
Fantasy Player Notes:
– Have we mentioned how good Joe Burrow is? Cause he's really, really good. I love watching him play because it is just a masterclass of pure intellectual QB play. He diagnoses the defense so quickly and just shreds it with perfectly placed passes...it's like what Tua is doing but more impressive because his range is greater and he doesn't have the speed at WR that Tua is enjoying. Burrow is the most accurate passer I've seen since Drew Brees and I never get tired of watching him zip passes into windows that look impossible, all without the raw arm strength of Herbert or Allen or Mahomes. All those guys are great in their own ways, but Burrow doesn't have their physical gifts and makes up for it with timing and anticipation and accuracy...he really is Tom Brady 2.0.
– Burrow's fantasy stats have been a little down the past 4 games, obviously without his best weapon in Ja'Marr Chase but the good news is Chase is expected to play next week against the Chiefs...somehow. Any time a player suffers a hip injury it's not good. Hurting a hip doesn't sound like that detrimental a thing, but it's a hugely important part of playing football, especially for a WR, and hip injuries tend to be very painful and can derail a season or even a career very quickly.
When Chase got hurt I really thought he was done for the regular season if not the entire year, and the fact that he is ready to play this fast is incredible, a testament to his athleticism and willpower. I do want to caution everyone though because again, hips are tricky injuries, and even if he's ready to play that does not necessarily mean he's at 100%. He could be on a pitch count (although I doubt it because of the magnitude of this game, if Cincy wins it is massive for their chances of passing Baltimore) or he could be at only 80% of his usual ability. If he walks right back in and drops a Ja'Marr Chase 8-154-2 game then he's the greatest receiver alive. You probably have to start him if you have him, but just be aware that there could be an adjustment period before he's back to his normal self.
– Two weeks with no Joe Mixon, two weeks where Samaje Perine is a bona fide RB1. And yet some moronic team is going to pay Josh Jacobs big bucks this off-season. Say it with me again: RBs are mostly replaceable. The Bengals have a big game against the Chiefs this week and I have to imagine Mixon will be ready to go for that. If for some reason he's not, you can safely plug Perine back into your lineup.
– Hayden Hurst had a nice game here but it's been rather hit or miss with him. He's only had 1 really good game this year and a large part of it is because he's only scored 2 TDs. His role didn't seem to change with Chase out so I'd expect him to keep going along as he has been.
– Derrick Henry was bottled up here by a very good Bengals run defense but made up for it with a long catch and run on a screen pass. He fumbled the ball at the goal line or his stat line would have been even better. No worries here.
– The beneficiary of Henry's fumble was Treylon Burks who dove on the ball in the endzone. Fun fact: Burks has 3 TDs on the year...none of them coming on a reception (2 rushing and 1 fumble recovery). Don't let that distract you from the fact that Burks is starting to break out. Now that he's healthy and get integrated, you can see flashes of his talent.
In his last 3 games since returning from injury he's gotten 6-8-6 targets. Keep in mind he doesn't need 10+ targets like many other receivers because he's more likely than most to hit a big play or two. He got loose in single coverage here and just Mossed his defender on a poorly thrown ball from Tannehill. Burks is incredibly talented but I do worry about his future in fantasy because of the QB play in Tennessee. Let's hope Willis gets it figured out.
– Trenton Irwin is a name I didn't recognize, so I had to go look him up. He played at Stanford and went undrafted in 2018 after a solid but unspectacular college career. He originally signed with Miami but ultimately ended up with Cincinnati where he bounced back and forth from the practice squad for the past few years. There is no combine or workout data that I can find on him. He's got good size at about 6'1”/205 and looks like an ok athlete but nothing special. His game reminds me of a poor man's Adam Thielen, solid routes, good hands, a professional WR.
Irwin has been playing about 70% of the snaps the past two weeks but the return of Chase is likely to send him back to the bench. He's a nice role player but nothing more.
Snap Counts of Interest:
58 = Higgins
53 = Boyd
52 = Irwin
46 = Hurst
56 = Perine
46 = Woods
43 = Westbrook-Ikhine
38 = Burks
32 = Henry
38 = Hooper
19 = Okonkwo
