The Cincinnati Bengals (10-7) will host the Las Vegas Raiders (10-7) in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on NBC.
After securing the No. 4 seed in the AFC, the Bengals awaited their opponent and the date in which they would be playing. The NFL opted to put the Bengals in the first game of the double-header on Saturday. After the Raiders beat the Chargers on Sunday night, the matchup was set. This will mark the second time this season the Bengals and Raiders will square off against one another.
In the first meeting, the Bengals traveled to Allegiant Stadium and dominated the Raiders, 32-13, on Nov. 21 following their bye week. Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon stole the show in the game rushing for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Mixon's performance put the Bengals' run game showed the multiple ways the Bengals' offense can dominate.
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The Raiders did have success putting pressure on quarterback Joe Burrow early in the first meeting. Cincinnati gave up three sacks on Burrow in the win. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue leads the team with 10 sacks and Maxx Crosby has added six of his own. Quarterback Derek Carr continues to play at a high level and has a cast of weapons that include tight end Darren Waller, slot wide receiver Hunter Renfrow and running back Josh Jacobs.
Las Vegas will head into Saturday’s matchup with the Bengals on a four-game winning streak. The Raiders’ season has been one marred of controversy as former head Jon Gruden resigned mid-season. Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia has led his team to a 7-5 record sense taking over.
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