The Cincinnati Bengals hit the road to take on the Detroit Lions in the Motor City as the first of three consecutive road games for the team.
After losing in overtime to the Green Bay Packers at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday, the Bengals are looking to get back on track. The Lions have yet to win a game this season and Cincinnati doesn't want to be the team to give Detroit its first win.
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Here's how the Bengals beat the Lions and move to 4-2 on the season:
Win on third down
The Bengals biggest priority on offense is improving on third down. Cincinnati ranks No. 23 in third down efficiency and head coach Zac Taylor says his team needs to improve in third-and-short situations.
If the Bengals are able to sustain longer offensive drives, they'll put pressure on Lions' quarterback Jared Goff to make plays every time he touches the ball.
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He hasn't shown he's capable of doing that consistently but has shown he's able to claw his team back into games if the door is left open. Cincinnati can ensure it doesn't happen by extending drives on offense and being more efficient on third down.
Keep the pressure on Goff
Cincinnati's defensive line is the strength of the defense and Goff is known to turn the ball over when facing pressure. If Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard are able to get going, not only will the Bengals keep the Lions' offense off the field, they'll have a chance to create turnovers that could give the offense more opportunities to score and put the game out of reach.
Expect Hubbard to have a big day after missing two sack opportunities against the Packers.
Get Tyler Boyd targets early and often
Tyler Boyd's lack of involvement in the Bengals' offensive game plan was surprising to say the least against the Packers. Boyd didn't record his first catch until the end of the third quarter.
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If the Bengals want to fix their third down woes, scheming up more opportunities for Burrow to find Boyd could certainly help. Boyd dominated the Jaguars' defense in Week 4 and his play was a big reason Cincinnati was able to come back and win the game.
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Detroit doesn't have a defensive back who can go toe to toe with Boyd in the slot and the Bengals should take advantage of that.
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