The Cincinnati Bengals have a playoff spot in hand as they play the New England Patriots on Saturday afternoon, Christmas Eve.
But they want quite a bit more.
A playoff berth is nice, but the team would like to keep its game lead in the AFC North and compete for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
To do that, Joe Burrow and Co. have to avoid a letdown against a .500 club with issues across the board, including struggles at quarterback and droves of injury woes.
Before kickoff, here’s a look at key players and storylines to know about the wintery matchup in Foxboro.
Bengals WRs vs. Patriots DBs
Too obvious? Sure, but just hear this: The Pats won’t have starting corner Jalen Mills. Cornerbacks Jonathan Jones and Jack Jones are also listed as questionable. Remember that this is on a short week, so there should be ample opportunity to attack the boundary and deep with Cincinnati’s big trio of wide receivers.
Trey Hendrickson
Can Hendrickson come in while playing on a broken wrist and fully make up for the loss of Sam Hubbard? The Patriots have let up 33 sacks this year and only average 21.4 points per game, so if Hendrickson is even a fraction of his normal self, he might create problems for the Pats and opportunities for his teammates.
Mac Jones
Speaking of causing problems for the Patriots, Mac Jones has suffered 26 sacks this year while averaging just 6.9 yards per attempt with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
But here’s the catch — that seems like a layup for the Bengals defense. And yet fans surely remember how badly backups and mediocre quarterbacks excelled against the team earlier this year. The team must avoid a similar pitfall.
Burrow's play
Does it remain at an MVP level? He’s told anyone who will listen this week that there aren’t many weak points to attack, if any, in the New England defense. That they’re well-coached and perform at a high level at all times.
Burrow turned it around after the shaky first half last week and still won an ugly game. Will he make those key one or two plays in this one — pretty or ugly — that win it? And can he finally start to shake the tipped passes that lead to interceptions?
Playoffs
The Bengals enter Saturday guaranteed a playoff spot after the Jets loss on Thursday night. Either way, they want to win out and keep a lock on the AFC North while also competing for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Like games against the Chiefs and others as of late, this could very well feel like a playoff game for the Bengals. Whether they handle it as such could end up deciding whether they have the top seed in the conference.
