Whew, that’s daunting. The New Orleans Saints and the Cincinnati Bengals have achieved the same mediocre 2-3 record going into their Week 6 clash, but the experts don’t think this one will be close. Per surveying of national media outlets and fan blogs around the league’s orbit at NFL Pickwatch, an overwhelming majority of expert picks (87%) are coming in for the visiting Bengals, not the home-underdog Saints (just 13%).
Unfortunately, it’s easy to see why this is so lopsided. Injuries have decimated the Saints, almost literally — 14 of the 53 players on their active roster were listed on the injury report this week, with non-participants including wide receivers Michael Thomas (foot), Jarvis Landry (ankle), and Deonte Harty (foot) as well as top cornerback Marshon Lattimore (abdomen) and backup defensive end Payton Turner (chest).
So the Saints will be missing multiple starters when both squads hit the field in New Orleans on Sunday, but the Bengals should have all hands on deck: their only non-participants in practice this week were left tackle Jonah Williams (knee) and wide receiver Tee Higgins (ankle), who were both held out as precautionary measures and are expected to play.
Hopefully the Saints can rally to overcome all of these absences. The Bengals offense has struggled to create explosive plays early this season, which has been the biggest vulnerability for New Orleans. Cutting down on those mistakes without Lattimore will be difficult, to say the least, but it helps that the Cincinnati offense hasn’t exactly gotten the most out of its talent. Let’s hope they remain stagnant one more week to give the Saints a fighting chance.
