Bengals seek redemption vs. Saints
CINCINNATI — A common message among Cincinnati Bengals defenders during the off week, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said, centered on the letdown at Kansas City two weeks ago.
The Chiefs are Super Bowl contenders. The Bengals didn’t measure up. The New Orleans Saints are next up, fresh off a win against the powerful Los Angeles Rams to solidify their status as contenders, too.
Can the Bengals keep up? Or at least show improvement?
“Got another opportunity to play against the No. 1 team in the league,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’ve got to be able to show up.”
The joke this week, given the injury to receiver A.J. Green and with the meaningful AFC North meeting at Baltimore looming, is the Bengals should forfeit against the Saints Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick can’t stop the Chiefs’ Kareem Hunt from scoring in a 45-10 loss to Kansas City on Oct. 21. Next up for Cincinnati: another top offense with visiting New Orleans.
and get to next week healthier and ready to essentially eliminate the Ravens from division and playoff contention.
After all, the Saints have the second-best offense in the league, a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees and prolific offensive weapons in Michael Thomas, a former Ohio State receiver, and running back Alvin Kamara. Not to mention the Saints signed free-agent receiver Dez Bryant on Wednesday.
Brees, meanwhile, has completed 213
of 279 pass attempts this season, a 76.3 completion percentage that would be by far the best mark of any season of his 13-year career. He as passed for 2,336 yards, 18 touchdowns and just one interception. That has propelled the Saints’ offense to 34.9 points per game, second-best in the league, and 289.9 passing yards per game (seventh).
And the Bengals defense is still badly banged up. Linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Nick Vigil and cornerback Darqueze Dennard did not practice on Wednesday, all in need of more time before returning.
As much as next week will mean for the AFC playoff picture, though, Kirkpatrick spoke toward this truth: nothing about the future matters if the Bengals’ defense, ranked last in the league by giving up an average of 488 yards per game, doesn’t play better.
This weekend provides opportunity.
“My message going into this is we (stunk) the last time we played against the No. 1 team in the league,” said Kirkpatrick, referencing the 45-10 loss against the Chiefs. “Very disappointing, to the fans, to ourselves. We’ve got to play with more heart. I feel like this is a good opportunity. We definitely get another chance to redeem ourselves against the No. 1 contenders of the NFL. It’s going to be very exciting.”