On Friday, the Washington Football Team will be hosting the Cincinnati Bengals for its second preseason game of the year. They played each other last season in Week 11, a game where Chase Young made the highlight reel with a red-zone forced fumble and Washington went on to win its third game of the year.
Oh, and that's the game when promising rookie QB Joe Burrow's season ended.
While Cincinnati is looking to win its second preseason game in a row, it will do so with the rehabbed Burrow watching. Meanwhile, Washington is looking to win its first and continue to develop Rivera’s “guys” in their due time.
RECORDS: Washington Football Team (0-1), Bengals (1-0)
ODDS: Washington is 4.5-point favorites and the line is a 34.5-point total over/under.
BETTING TRENDS: Washington is 0-1 against the spread this preseason.
STAT: Jack Del Rio's defense gave up the most rushing yards (179) in the NFL against New England last week.
FUN FACT: Undrafted rookie running back Jaret Patterson led Washington in rushing (40) and receiving (30) against the Patriots.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Four-year veteran cornerback Torry McTyer stood out in training camp and in last week’s preseason game. He had a pass breakup and the sixth most total tackles (3) on the team. His success is getting him more time on the field with the Cincy second-stringers.
A WELCOME ADDITION: On Friday, Kyle Allen will be suiting up against the Bengals. He was on track to play in the first game, but re-tweaking his ankle held him out.
“I just want to get hit again … I’m going to play Friday,” Allen said.
As of now, Allen is listed as the third-string quarterback. This is his first game since his season-ending ankle injury last season.
WASHINGTON KEY TO VICTORY: Washington’s key to victory is for its defense to maintain control of the Bengals rushing game. Del Rio’s defense was ranked as the second-best last season. To open up a new season with the most yards allowed on the ground in the entire league, isn’t a good look.
Washington allowed the Patriots to average 7.2 yards per carry and the Bengals put up 118 rushing yards against the Buccaneers last week. If Washington wants any chance of winning this week, it needs to stop the rush at the line of scrimmage more often and at least cut the average yards per carry in half.
GAME TIME: 8:00 p.m. ET, Friday, Aug. 20
LOCATION: Fed Ex Field, Landover, Maryland
TV/RADIO: NFL Network, NBC4, NBC Sports Washington, WTEM 980 AM, WMAL 105.9 FM, ESPN 630 AM
THE FINAL WORD: “You’re not going to show up and do what you did last year. People know who you are now,” Rivera said. “We’re not the ‘85 Bears or New England from a couple of years ago. We’re trying to get them to understand that we have to keep working.”
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