4 reasons the Raiders will beat the Bengals in the Wild Card round
By Nick Bailey
4 reasons the Raiders will beat the Bengals in the Wild Card round
More efficient defense
The Raiders defense has been one of the top units in the NFL the last four weeks except for the fourth quarter in the Week 18 game against the Chargers. If you remember the last time these two teams met up, the Raiders defense did pretty well defending the many offensive weapons that the Bengals possess but kept making mental errors committing penalty after penalty helping to keep Bengal drives alive.
The Raiders defense hasn’t been making those mistakes on this current four-game winning streak that the team is on and it’s been mostly driven by the defensive line. Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue were ranked one and three respectively in quarterback pressures this season, Solomon Thomas has had a career revival, Quinton Jefferson has provided the inside pass-rushing that the Raiders has been missing for quite some time, and Johnathan Hankins provides the run-stuffing big body every defense needs.
But it’s not just the defensive line that has improved, essentially every level of this defense is exponentially better than not only last year but even earlier this season as well.
When 2021 third-round pick Divine Deablo replaced Cory Littleton in the lineup to play alongside first-time Pro Bowler Denzel Perryman, the linebacker play have improved to a level that Raider Nation hasn’t seen for more than 20 years, and the Raiders secondary led by veteran Casey Hayward and rookie Trevon Moehrig has been the strongest it ever has been since the Nnamdi Asomugha days.
The Raiders defense has been the most solid on these past four games than they were the first time these two teams faced off. If the Raiders can limit the mental mistakes as they have except for this past Sunday’s game the Raiders will have a real shot to win this game.