Chase Brown hopes to keep his good vibes going. (Mike Petraglia-CLNS Media)
Vikings (7-6) at Bengals (7-6), Saturday, Dec. 16 at Paycor Stadium (Field Turf), 1 p.m. ET, TV: NFL Network (National), WCPO-TV Ch. 9 (Cincinnati), Chris Rose, Jason McCourty, Steve Wyche. Radio: Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham. 700 WLW-AM, WEBN-FM (102.7 FM), ESPN1530. National: Westwood One: John Sadak, Ross Tucker.
CINCINNATI — Something’s gotta give Saturday.
The Bengals improbable march to the playoffs continues with a matchup that figures to be rock fight in the trenches.
Two teams with playoff aspirations and identical records meet Saturday afternoon when the Bengals host the Minnesota Vikings.
Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati’s top receiver and Justin Jefferson’s teammate at LSU, spent the early portion of the week working through an ankle issue but is expected to play.
In their only previous meeting, Jefferson caught five passes for 71 yards while Chase also caught five balls for 101 yards, including a 50-yard TD pass from Joe Burrow as the Bengals claimed a 27-24 overtime victory in the 2021 season opener in Cincinnati.
The Bengals (7-6) have rallied behind backup quarterback Jake Browning to win consecutive games against Jacksonville and Indianapolis following a season-ending wrist injury to Joe Burrow.
Fresh from a 34-14 win over the Colts, Cincinnati is one of six AFC teams that enters Week 15 with a 7-6 record.
In scoring 34 points in back-to-back games behind Browning, the Bengals have averaged 438 net yards in that stretch.
“These guys believe in what we’re doing and have done a great job,” said head coach Zac Taylor on his offensive contributors. “We’ve really called upon every resource we have on offense. Everybody has stepped up.”
Browning has the highest completion percentage (79.3) by any NFL QB in their first three starts since 1950.
Coming off his AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors in a win over Jacksonville, Browning completed 18-of-24 for 275 yards against the Colts, with two touchdowns and an interception.
Browning was aided by the running back tandem of Joe Mixon and rookie Chase Brown, who caught a 54-yard screen pass and sprinted untouched for a touchdown.
“I feel like we’ve got some good rhythm going,” Browning said. “I thought our O-line had a really good game. No sacks, a couple explosive screens, we ran the ball for 100-plus yards.”
The Vikings (7-6) are coming off a win in the lowest scoring NFL game of the season, a 3-0 victory at Las Vegas. Backup quarterback Nick Mullins replaced Josh Dobbs and led Minnesota on a 13-play, 56-yard drive that ended with a 36-yard Greg Joseph field goal at the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter.
The defense was the star of the game for Minnesota, led by University of Cincinnati product and Cincinnati native Ivan Pace Jr. The rookie linebacker was undrafted this past spring but given a chance to excel in the defense directed by defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Pace earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after a career-high 13 tackles at Las Vegas Sunday and grabbing the game-sealing interception, helping Minnesota hold on for the three-point road win.
“He’s done a great job. The kid works hard; it’s important to him,” Flores said. “It takes a little while to just get familiar with the NFL game – the speed of it, and the wear and tear that happens to your body throughout the season. I think he’s really feeling good, really feeling confident.
“I’m excited about where Ivan’s progression’s gone, and he’ll hopefully continue to ascend.”
Through 13 games, Pace has 68 tackles (43 solo), an interception, 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.
Pace turns 23 Saturday and will spend his birthday Saturday in his hometown, trying to damage Cincinnati’s playoff hopes.
The Vikings are hopeful to have star receiver Justin Jefferson back from a chest injury suffered in the first half of Sunday’s game in Las Vegas. Jefferson told reporters Thursday that he expects to play after taking a brutal shot over the middle from Josh Dobbs.
Here’s what to look for:
Browning said this week that there could not be two more contrasting defensive styles than the Colts and the Vikings. Minnesota’s defense is directed by Brian Flores, who loves to bring pressure and also drop eight, making it a challenge for quarterback to pick and choose where he wants to go with the ball. The challenge this week will be for Browning to quickly and accurately get rid of the ball to receivers who can make yards after the catch. The key to the Vikings back end is safety Harrison Smith, regarded as one of the smartest safeties in football, along with Minkah Fitzpatrick. Browning will have to work at moving him around the field as much as possible and not allowing him to read keys that will allow him to jump up in coverage.
The Raiders ran last week for just 56 yards on 17 carries, including one burst of 12 yards. The Bengals may have more success this week with their thunder and lightning look, with Chase Brown offering more speed out of the backfield, and offering a legitimate weapon in the screen pass game. Danielle Hunter is tied with Trey Hendrickson for third in the NFL in sacks with 13.5. The Bengals can counter with a run game and good schematics in pass protection, like Drew Sample helping out with an occasional chip.
No they don’t face-off directly on the field and you can bet they’ll be keeping score on each other from the sideline. Chase said Thursday that he is the top receiver in the league and Jefferson is right behind him. Jefferson, no doubt, would like to flip that Saturday. If Jefferson is healthy, DJ Turner would have the biggest challenge of his rookie season. But we won’t know how banged up Jefferson is until he gets on the field. If Browning is given time, Chase, Higgins and Boyd will work to win their one-on-one battles. Tanner Hudson has quietly become a critical piece of the Bengals offense as a target in the middle of the field.
We’ve warned all week to expect a low-scoring affair, that points will be hard to come by. However, the Bengals could dictate things if they could find a way to get on the board first and dictate terms to an offense that just made fifth-round quarterback Jaren Hall the backup to Nick Mullens, relegating Joshua Dobbs to third string. The Bengals find a way to take care of the ball and take their time grinding away at the Vikings defense. This game will be won on the slow but sure track. The Bengals defense has picked up the pace of late and that should continue against Mullens and a banged up Minnesota offensive line.
Bengals 17, Vikings 7
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