Keys to Victory: Cincinnati Bengals vs Las Vegas Raiders

Cincinnati won the AFC North for the first time since 2015.

Imagine hearing the "Who Dey" chants grow louder and louder as the final seconds wind down in a Bengals' playoff win for the first time in 31 years.

Imagine the City of Cincinnati erupting with happy Bengals fans as they embrace each other in long bear hugs, while shedding tears of joy and sending out the first text messages about a Bengals playoff win. Zac Taylor walks to the podium with a grin that says, "I told ya so’"and Joe Burrow arrives at the podium with an unimpressed face of stone to make the message clear that this was his expectation all along.

These fantasies could become reality on Saturday night when the Bengals get a shot at beating the Raiders for a second time this season.

Every NFL player and head coach will tell you that beating a team twice in one year is extremely difficult. 

Here are my three keys to a Bengals playoff win.

Protect Joey B

Joe Burrow has played tremendous football this season. Yes, he had trouble with interceptions midway through the year, but he corrected that problem down the season’s stretch. Yeah, his football IQ is impressive as his deep balls, but what is more impressive about his play is his ability to avoid being sacked. He has been hit 109 times this season and sacked 51 times. Cincinnati’s pass protection is not at an elite level, allowing sacks on nine percent of pass plays during the regular season (2nd most in the league). Saturday they’ll face a Raiders defense that ranked sixth in pressure percentage at 32.8%. Burrow will have to play his best game to date in regards to making guys miss.

Related: All Bengals Staff Makes Picks for Wild Card Matchup Against Raiders

Unleash Joe Mixon

Las Vegas limited Burrow to 148 passing yards and one touchdown in Week 11. The Raiders will have a bullseye on Burrow again on Saturday. Luckily for Cincinnati, they have the insanely talented Joe Mixon who ran for two touchdowns in the first matchup.

I’ve said many times that Frank Pollack and Joe Mixon work extremely well together. Pollack has been able to help Mixon identify the gaps, and the halfback racked 1,205 rushing yards this season, and had 123 yards on the ground in Las Vegas. 

The Raiders’ run defense has improved down the stretch, but they’ll be focused on trying to keep Mixon in check. Containing both Burrow and Mixon should be nearly impossible, especially with run-stuffing defensive tackle Darius Philon out with a knee injury. Mixon will be able to do some serious damage once again if given the opportunity.

Contain Josh Jacobs

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs has had a late season surge. He had a career-high 132 rushing yards on 26 carries against the Chargers and had 126 yards in Week 16. Jacobs has brought much needed balance to the team’s offense.

Cincinnati’s defense needs to play at their highest possible level because they won’t be facing the same offense that we saw in Week 11 where Jacobs only managed to run for 37 yards on nine carries. This defense has an identity built on stopping the run and they need to play true to that on Saturday if they want their first postseason win in more than three decades.

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