Bengals, Raiders look to reverse recent slides
Just a few weeks ago the Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders found themselves in surprising spots, tied at the top of the AFC standings.
The two perennial alsorans had both gotten off to 5-2 starts that offered promise that a longawaited breakthrough could be in the cards.
But headed into their meeting on Sunday in Las Vegas, both the Bengals (54) and Raiders (5-4) have reverted to their recent form with back-to-back losses that have put serious dents into their playoff hopes.
“Things are not going to get easier, they’re going to get harder these last eight games,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “You know, about everybody in the league right now is 5-4 or 5-5. We’re right there in the middle of it, so we’re going to take care of business starting this week on the road in Las Vegas.”
The Bengals are coming off their bye, following losses to the Jets and Browns the previous two weeks. The Raiders’ slide started following their bye week as they have lost to the Giants and Chiefs.
But despite the recent slumps, both the Bengals and Raiders remain in contention in a tight conference
that features seven teams with five wins, four more with six and only Tennessee (8-2) having created any space with the competition.
“You see it all throughout the league, especially like the last two weeks. Teams not having weeks they are used to having or teams beating teams that usually wouldn’t beat them,” Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said.
“We saw it all the last two weeks. It’s been really weird actually, but what it’s done is it’s really kept everything
close, and we’ll see what happens. We got to go earn it. We got to go prove it. It’s not what we want, but we definitely have the guys in the room to be able to do it.”
SLOW STARTS » One issue that has plagued the Raiders all season has been slow starts. Las Vegas has fallen behind by double digits five times in the first half this season, tied for the second most for any team. The Raiders managed to climb out of those holes and win back in Weeks 1 and 3 against Baltimore and Miami,
but haven’t the past three times.
“I think both sides of the ball we talk about starting fast and finish faster,” interim coach Rich Bisaccia said. “Everyone has different vernacular but that’s kind of how we talk about it, that’s what we preach to our team. In the games we’ve started fast, we’ve been in a position to have a chance to win them in the end. In the games we haven’t, lately we’re struggling getting ourselves back in the game in the fourth quarter.”