The Joe Burrow vs. Justin Herbert matchup from Sunday’s 2020 NFL Draft features crucial surrounding circumstances as the Cincinnati Bengals host Los Angeles Chargers.
Burrow, for example, has been a great player this year — but Sunday feels like another Joe Mixon game. In the Steelers’ blowout win, Burrow ran for a record-breaking 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Now Mixon will face the Chargers defense, which is ranked last against the run with an average of 145.3 yards per ground game. The defense allows 26.6 points per match, which is the fourth-worst in the NFL.
Herbert, who was the sixth overall pick in the draft Burrow took first, has been impressive once more, completing 66 per cent of his passes and scoring 24 touchdowns.
Although Herbert’s offensive line has a few nice pieces, it has allowed 122 pressures to be released and 17 sacks so the Bengals have a chance to exploit this with Trey Hendrickson or others. Herbert’s weapons are responsible for the 28th-most NFL drops.
All of this is not to suggest that the Bengals will win easily. The Chargers will have to make a long trip to a kickoff time that they aren’t used to. After a hot start of the season, they are now 6-5 and just 2-4 in their last six games.
However, the Bengals are most likely to lose to Herbert’s Chargers during this stretch. This is purely because Herbert has so many high-quality weapons.
It’s hard to predict a Bengals team that has two wins in succession, an improved offensive line, and a defense that sometimes looks like the best in league. It should be a win if the Bengals take advantage of an early lead and then hold the running game.
Prediction: Bengals 28, Chargers 20