NFL Week 15 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) vs. Oakland Raiders (3-10)

The Bengals will have a chance to host a California team after their most recent trip to the state resulted in a loss. The Bengals are coming off their fifth straight loss and the Raiders will be the last opponent to play in Cincinnati for the 2018 season.

Cincinnati looked like a competent team for the most part last week as they fell to the Chargers 21-26 despite being two-touchdown underdogs heading into the game. Then again, morale victories shouldn’t mean much for a team that was once sitting pretty at 4-1 and is now 5-8.

The Raiders season has been predictably terrible after they dealt away their generational pass rusher Khalil Mack early on, and then moving wide receiver Amari Cooper just before the trade deadline. Jon Gruden’s team seems poised to be picking early in the upcoming draft, but that didn’t stop them from upsetting the Steelers last week.

Can the Bengals avoid getting swept by the AFC West this week?

Everything you need to know for when the Bengals host the Raiders:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (5-7) vs Oakland Raiders (3-10)

Date/Time: Dec. 16th, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH

Streaming: FuboTV

Series Leader: Raiders lead the all-time series 18-10

Streak: Bengals have won the past two

Coaches vs. Opponent: Marvin Lewis: (3-2) vs. John Gruden (3-0)

Television: The game will air on CBS-TV. In the Bengals’ home region, it will be carried by WKRC-TV (Ch. 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Ch. 7) in Dayton and on WKYT-TV (Ch. 27) in Lexington. Broadcasters are Andrew Catalon (play-by-play) and James Lofton (analyst).

Radio: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

SB Nation Raiders site: Silver and Black Pride

Weather: Mid 40’s, Mostly Cloudy [NFL weather]

Odds: Bengals open as, -3 [Odds Shark]

Bengals notes

• Jeff Driskel passed for 170 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for a 96.2 passer rating last week. He has at least a completion percentage of 65% and a touchdown pass in each of his two career starts.
• Joe Mixon rushed for 111 yards with a touchdown in Week 14. He aims for his fourth game in a row with 95 yards from scrimmage. Mixon has over 80 rushing yards in each of his past three games. In seven home games this season, he has 759 scrimmage yards (108.4 per game) and four touchdowns (three rushing and one receiving). Mixon has 115 scrimmage yards in three of his past six games at home. Giovani Bernard had 88 scrimmage yards (63 rushing and 25 receiving) in his only career meeting against the Raiders. Since entering league in 2013, he is one of four in the NFL with 3,000 rushing yards (3,097) and 250 catches (259).
• Tyler Boyd led the team with 52 receiving yards last week. He has 85 receiving yards in two of his past three games. In his past four games at home, Boyd has 385 receiving yards (96.3 per game) and two touchdowns. John Ross had a touchdown catch in Week 14. He has a receiving touchdown in four of his past five games. He has a touchdown in two of his past three at home
• Carlos Dunlap had two passes defended and a sack in Week 14. He had a sack in the last meeting with Oakland. He aims for his third in a row against the Raiders with a tackle for a loss. Geno Atkins had a sack and forced fumble in his last meeting. In two career games against the Raiders, he has two sacks, two tackles for a loss and a forced fumble. Since entering league in 2010, Atkins leads NFL defensive tackles with 68 sacks. Shawn Williams has at least nine tackles in two of his past three games at home. Rookie Jessie Bates ranks fifth among rookies with 94 tackles and is one of three NFL players with at least 90 tackles and three interceptions this season.

Raiders notes

• Derek Carr completed 25 of 34 (73.5 percent) for 322 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for 122.4 passer rating in Week 14. He aims for his third in row with at least two touchdown passes, a completion percentage of 70 and 120 passer rating. He has 100 passer rating in three of his past four. He aims for his ninth in row without an interception. Carr leads the AFC and ranks fifth in the NFL with a completion percentage of 69.5 percent (317 of 456)
• Doug Martin had a rushing touchdown in Week 14. He aims for his fourth in a row with rushing touchdown. He rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown in his only career meeting (11/30/14 with TB). Martin aims for his third in a row on the road with at least 50 rushing yards. Jalen Richard has 90 scrimmage yards in two of his past four games. He ranks second among AFC running backs with 57 catches and 483 receiving yards in 2018.
• Jared Cook had seven catches for 116 yards last week. He aims for his third in a row with over 100 receiving yards and has a touchdown in three of his past four games. He has touchdown catch in each of his past two games on the road. Cook had 58 receiving yards in his last game against the Bengals. (11/29/15 with Rams). He is tied for third among NFL tight ends with a career-high six touchdown catches in 2018. Tight end Derek Carrier had a receiving touchdown in Week 14, his second-career touchdown catch. Seth Roberts had 76 receiving yards last week. He has 50 receiving yards in two of his past three games.
• Tahir Whitehead had a team-high 10 tackles, two passes defended and an interception last week. He has at least 10 tackles in two of his past three games. He had eight tackles and a tackle for a loss in his last game against the Bengals. (12/24/17 with Det.). He is one of five players in the NFL with over 100 tackles (104) and eight tackles for a loss. Gareon Conley had two passes defended last week. He has six passes defended in his past four games. Former Bengal Clinton McDonald had a sack last week.