Seattle Seahawks Enemy Overview: Gearing Up For Ja'Marr Chase, 'Exciting' Cincinnati Bengals

While they remain a game under the .500 mark, the Seattle Seahawks need to be on top of their game against a surging Cincinnati Bengals squad led by a healthier Joe Burrow and electric Ja'Marr Chase in a marquee matchup at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.

RENTON, Wash. - In each of the past two seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals have slumped out of the gate, opening the schedule with a pair of defeats to put themselves behind the eight ball early in the AFC North.

But as Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows all too well about his team's upcoming opponent, the Bengals have mastered the art of rebounding from a sluggish start. A year ago, they won 12 of their final 14 games to win the division and if not for a canceled game against the Buffalo Bills due to safety Damar Hamlin going into cardiac arrest, they may have earned the top seed in the conference over the Kansas City Chiefs.

This year, Cincinnati's early woes extended through the first four weeks, as a hampered Joe Burrow played well below expectations while dealing with a calf injury and the team lost three of its first four games. Right on cue, however, the former No. 1 overall pick looked like his old self in a 34-20 romp at Arizona last weekend, connecting with star receiver Ja'Marr Chase for a trio of touchdowns and signaling the franchise may be poised to go on another run.

"I saw a really exciting Cincinnati team play last week, and they look like they’re back and rolling," Carroll told reporters prior to Wednesday's practice at the VMAC. "The quarterback looked great, the receiver looked great. They had a terrific ballgame, so I know they’ll be revved up to get this thing going too against us."

Sunday's marquee matchup at Paycor Stadium will mark the first time the Seahawks will face Burrow and Chase, who have taken the league by storm since being drafted out of LSU in the first round by the Bengals in successive drafts in 2020 and 2021. The two former Tigers stars hit the ground running as one of the NFL's premier quarterback/receiver duos, connecting on 209 passes for 2,928 yards and 25 touchdowns in two-plus seasons.

Targeted 19 times by Joe Burrow against the Cardinals, Ja'Marr Chase dominated with three touchdown catches in a 34-20 win for the Bengals :: © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Having watched Burrow and Chase torch Arizona last weekend and put up prolific numbers together since stepping into the league, Carroll acknowledged Seattle's defense will have to deal with arguably its biggest challenge of the season thus far. In addition, Cincinnati has a talented runner in Joe Mixon in the backfield and could have receiver Tee Higgins back in the lineup after sitting out last weekend with a rib injury.

“Joe Burrow is a terrific quarterback. He’s shown that over the years, his college days. He’s a big time QB. Their coach really loves to throw the football and utilize and trust him, and they have terrific receivers," Carroll said. "Ja’Marr [Chase] happens to be their top guy. You can’t have a bigger game than three touchdowns and 19 targets and all of that. All of the balls that he took to the house were phenomenal. They’re loaded."

Seeking their first 3-0 start on the road since 2019, here’s a closer look at the Seahawks Week 6 opponent, including series history, additions/departures, a deep dive into scheme, and Carroll's evaluation of the playoff-tested Bengals.

Series History

- 22nd regular season meeting. One of the few teams that has enjoyed persistent success against the Seahawks during the Carroll era, the Bengals have won two of the past three matchups between the franchises dating back to 2010 and hold an 11-10 advantage all-time. Only playing five times since Seattle switched to the NFC, Cincinnati has captured three of those games, including winning at then-Qwest Field in 2011. Overall, the all-time series has featured three winning streaks of at least three games, including twice for the Bengals in the 1970s and 1980s and once for the Seahawks from 1989 to 1991.

What's New?

Departures: Suffering significant losses in the secondary, the Bengals allowed safeties Jessie Bates and Von Bell to leave in free agency, as the two former starters signed with the Falcons and Panthers on multi-year deals. They also lost valuable third down back Samaje Perine and tight end Hayden Hurst in free agency, hurting the team's depth at both positions. Coming off a torn ACL, Cincinnati surprisingly released tackle La'el Collins, who started 15 games at right tackle in 2022, on September 13.

Additions: Not known for spending big bucks in free agency, the Bengals bucked that frugal trend to upgrade their offensive line in front of Burrow, signing former Ravens and Chiefs starter Orlando Brown Jr. to a four-year, $64 million deal. Looking to help replace Bates and Bell on defense and Hurst on offense, the team also signed former Rams safety Nick Scott to a three-year deal and took a one-year flier on ex-Vikings tight end Irv Smith. In the draft, Cincinnati invested a first-round pick in athletic edge defender Myles Murphy and also landed cornerback DJ Turner and safety Jordan Battle on day three, giving the team two young developmental building blocks who have played substantial snaps early in the secondary.

Injury Report

Suffering a broken thumb in Cincinnati's third game, rookie receiver Charlie Jones will miss at least four games on injured reserve. Standout receiver Tee Higgins, who missed last week's win over Arizona with a rib injury, was limited in Wednesday's practice. On defense, starting cornerback Chidobe Awuzie continues to nurse a back injury and did not participate on Wednesday.

Inside The Scheme

Even with Burrow playing well below 100 percent for most of this season to this point, the Bengals have remained one of the most aggressive early down passing teams in the NFL thus far. Ranking third behind only the Vikings and Commanders, they have dialed up pass plays on 69 percent of their first down snaps. Not surprisingly given coach Zac Taylor's previous work as a disciple under Rams coach Sean McVay, they have ran 11 personnel with three receivers, a tight end, and a running back on 85 percent of those first down plays. If there's a notable departure for the apprentice, however, Cincinnati has lived in shotgun at an 86 percent clip.

In the run game, the Bengals have deployed a balanced attack utilizing a near 50/50 split between zone and gap concepts. To this point, the team has found minimal success regardless of run concept, as they rank 31st in the NFL in rushing yards and 25th in yards per carry through five weeks. Statistically, both the offensive line and Joe Mixon and the rest of Cincinnati's backs deserve a share of the blame, as the team has only generated 216 rushing yards before contact (31st overall) and 157 rushing yards after contact (26th overall).

"Joe Mixon is a great player too, and he makes their running game," Carroll said. "They just have everything that you need.”

Despite a strong start for defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who already has six sacks in five games, the Bengals haven't been quite as formidable rushing the passer as a defense this season. Currently ranked 19th in pressure rate per Pro Football Reference, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been forced to bring extra defenders more than prior seasons, blitzing on 33.9 percent of defensive snaps so far. Sending the blitz at a near-15 percent increase compared to 2022, the team ranks eighth in that category after finishing 22nd last season.

Even considering those numbers, however, Carroll isn't sleeping on Hendrickson, who has been a game wrecker since signing with the Bengals prior to the 2021 season and has evolved into one of the sport's best all-around pass rushers.

“He’s really fast, takes full advantage of that in his pass rush," Carroll noted. "He’ll take advantage if you set wrong or you get off the ball late, he’s going to take full advantage of it. He’s a real speed-oriented guy that really scares the daylight out of everybody coming off the edge.”

Primarily using a 4-2-5 nickel scheme with Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt each playing more than 90 percent of the snaps at linebacker, the Bengals have leaned heavily on Mike Hilton in the slot while mixing in safety Dax Hill and Scott at the position when going into dime looks. Schematically, per PFF, Anarumo has called Cover 3 on 43 percent of the team's coverage snaps and also played a fair amount of man with Cover 1 called 23 percent of the time.

Opponents have found consistent success running against the Bengals this season, particularly on first down where teams are averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the ground, the fifth-highest total in the NFL. Explosives have been a major issue, as the defense has allowed a league-worst 23 runs of 10 or more yards. They also have suffered from poor tackling, with PFF charging only Denver with more missed tackles on run plays than Cincinnati's 33 through five weeks.