Bengals vs Titans Expert's Take: Catching up on how former Bengals are faring in Tennessee
It's not quite Bill Belichick vs Mike Vrabel, but Zac Taylor will be coaching against a former assistant of his for the first time Sunday when the Cincinnati Bengals face the Tennessee Titans.The Bengals need miracles to make the playoffs. The Titans need miracles to make it next year. Regardless, both sides have plenty of […]
It's not quite Bill Belichick vs Mike Vrabel, but Zac Taylor will be coaching against a former assistant of his for the first time Sunday when the Cincinnati Bengals face the Tennessee Titans.
The Bengals need miracles to make the playoffs. The Titans need miracles to make it next year. Regardless, both sides have plenty of personal reasons to grind out a win in this classic AFC Central matchup. Tennessee leads Cincinnati, 41-37-1, after the 79 previous meetings between the two franchises.
But this is a new Titans team for the Bengals to try and defeat on the road. For the best insight on what's been happening in Nashville, I turned to A to Z Sports' Titans beat writer Easton Freeze to get the inside scoop.
JS: Brian Callahan needs no introduction to Bengals fans for obvious reasons. Many in Cincinnati wanted him to take over as the team’s play-caller when he was here. How has he looked in that regard for the Titans’ offense this season?
EF: Callahan has had some growing pains for sure, but all-in-all, his scheme has been a real plus. Unfortunately, there are countless examples of poor execution ruining opportunities created by Callahan as a play-caller. It’s a contentious topic, because they keep losing. And you get games like last week against Jacksonville where the offense manages just six points against the worst defense in football. As is always the case, many fans point towards coordination in a snap-judgement. But when you turn on the tape, it’s clear: Callahan is far from perfect, but he’s consistently creating chances. The Titans players are just consistently inconsistent with how often they take them.
JS: The last five games for Will Levis appear to have been a lot cleaner than his first five games, and now he’s set to face the Bengals’ volatile pass defense on Sunday. What’s the confidence level for Levis looking like as year two comes to a close?
EF- In his first three games back from injury, Levis looked as impressive as he’s ever looked. Against the #1, #2, and #3 defenses by success rate, he played his best three-game stretch ever as a pro. He has many in Nashville, myself included, sitting up in their chair wondering if there was yet some hope that the second-year quarterback was taking a leap. In the two weeks since, he’s cooled off a good bit. He’s still significantly cleaner than he used to be. The turnovers have dried up, which is huge. He’s fundamentally a safer player these days. But in times of stress, he tends to crumble. The stadium pulse rises, and his field vision and decision making falters. He has another month to prove he’s taken a big enough leap to justify a third year in 2025, but at this point an open QB competition next summer seems likely at the very least.
JS: Callahan brought not one, but two former Bengals with him to Nashville. How have Tyler Boyd and Chidobe Awuzie looked as Titans?
EF- They’ve been a tad underwhelming in different ways. With Boyd, Bengals fans don’t need to be told the story there. He’s on the wrong side of 30 and his role on the field is just limited at this point. He’s been banged up for stretches, and hasn’t been a factor in a handful of games. When he’s right and on the field, though, he’s been a useful player for Levis as a second or third option. Awuzie has been underwhelming in the sense that he went on Injured Reserve after completing less than three games as a Titan. He hurt his groin in Week 3 and just returned to play last week, in which he had an interception. So when he’s been out there, he’s been a big help. But we haven’t seen him much unfortunately.
JS: These teams knew each other pretty well from 2020-2023 with four matchups between them in those years, but this is almost a completely new Titans team for the Bengals to face. How do you see this one going down?
EF: I see the Bengals scoring a trillion points, as they’ve done all year, and the outcome depending entirely on which version of Levis and the Titans offense we see. A couple weeks ago, we saw the group who could keep pace and drop 32 in a high-scoring game. Last week, we saw the group who couldn’t even manage a touchdown against the worst defense in the league. So for our collective enjoyment, I’m hoping we see an explosive one. Optimistic view, the Bengals get the win but Tennessee makes it a competitive and fun one.