For the next month, the Bengals will play three teams from the pitiful NFC East as they try and salvage some success from what looks to be a lost season.
Up first is a road battle with the 2-7 Washington Football Team.
Going back to the start of the season, this game was meant to be a matchup between two first-round quarterbacks who competed with one another at Ohio State. Dwayne Haskins entered his second season as the starter for Washington and only last four weeks before he was benched for Kyle Allen, who played his first two season for new head coach Ron Rivera when they were with the Carolina Panthers. Allen also lasts just four games before he injures his ankle, which left the [name to be announced later] with one remaining option.
Alex Smith, who started a football game last Sunday for the first time in nearly two years, will be the one to face the Bengals in Joe Burrow’s 10th career game. Smith and Burrow were both coached by Urban Meyer in college and became first-overall draft picks after skyrocketing up draft boards late in the amateur careers, but that’s about where their similarities end.
Smith has been a fascinating storyline, but the real matchup to watch in this game is Burrow facing a dastardly defensive line led by defensive tackle Jonathan Allen and edge defender Chase Young, who was more than just Burrow’s teammate at Ohio State for one season. Young became the second-overall pick in this year’s draft, right after Burrow was taken, and also finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race that Burrow ran away with last year.
Burrow might be one of the few favorites to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, but Young is the clear favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. The two practiced against each other while Burrow was trying to climb the depth chart, and now they’ll meet on an NFL field for the first time.
For all the latest news, updates, and analysis of the Bengals’ Week 11 game against Washington, check out the stories a part of this stream!