Eagles-Bengals Preview: Key Matchups, How to Watch, Betting Odds

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Getty Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Eagles host the Bengals on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. Home game number two, without fans.

The game will be broadcast live on CBS at 1 p.m. and online streaming is available via FuboTV. The Eagles will be wearing their midnight green jerseys on Sunday, the same unlucky uniform color scheme from Week 2. Cincinnati is guided by rookie phenom Joe Burrow who has been wowing the biggest superstars in professional sports over two weeks. The Eagles should win this game, but it’s far from a gimme. The Bengals’ offense is both talented and dangerous. Watch out.

“Stats don’t really show it, but they’re a good football team,” linebacker Nate Gerry said. “Joe Burrow, he looks like a veteran back there, he’s very poised, has tremendous pocket presence and he’s not going to make a lot of mistakes so we got to put some pressure on him and hopefully put in some situations that can cause him to make some mistakes. But we have to stop the run with Joe Mixon because he’s a great back.”

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How to Watch Bengals-Eagles in Week 3

Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (0-2)

When: Sunday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m.

Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

TV: CBS — Radio: SportsRadio 94WIP

TV Announcers: Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta

Referee: Adrian Hill (Eagles 7-5 in games reffed by Hill)

Betting Odds: Eagles -5 (-110) — Over/Under 47.5 (per DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series History: Eagles bring a three-game losing streak versus the Bengals (with an infamous tie sandwiched in there) into this game. Cincinnati beat Philadelphia 32-14 in 2016 in their most recent matchup. The Eagles haven’t beaten the Bengals since 2000 in a 16-7 victory in Philly. Cincy leads the all-time series 9-3-1.


Key Matchups to Watch

TE Drew Sample vs. LB Nate Gerry: All eyes will be on Gerry after a forgettable Week 2 performance where the Rams’ Tyler Higbee exploded for three touchdowns. It wasn’t all on the Eagles young linebacker but he took the blame on two of them. Sample is making his first true start with C.J. Uzomah injured. Joe Burrow targeted Sample nine times in Week 2 and he finished with seven catches for 45 yards.

“We had a lot of people in and out of spots where they were supposed to be [last week],” Gerry told reporters. “I think it’s just a thing during the week that we have to fix, going over the plays throughout the week, and being fundamentally sound and all on the same page.”


WR A.J. Green vs CB Darius Slay: “Big Play” has been as good as advertised in his first two games for Philly. Traveling around the formation to match the opposition’s top receiver, Slay held Washington’s Terry McLaurin and Los Angeles’ Robert Woods in check. The oft-injured Green has struggled so far this season — eight catches for 80 yards, on 22 total targets — but the 6-foot-4 Pro Bowler remains an elite NFL receiver. Slay knows it as he looks for his first interception of the year.

“If you’re blessed to play the whole season, then you’re going to play 2,000 plays a year, plenty of plays,” Slay told reporters. “So don’t try to make the play, the play is going to come to you. I just say, man, if we do our job, we are going to make a lot more plays.”


RB Joe Mixon vs. DT Javon Hargrave: Several Eagles players commented on how they need to do a better job of stopping the run, specifically against a shifty power back like Mixon. His numbers are slightly down but he’s explosive and knows how to break tackles. Hargrave is more of a pass-rusher than a run-stuffer but he’ll need to step up and plug the gaps this week, especially if Fletcher Cox (abdomen) can’t play. Remember, Hargrave missed all of training camp with a pectoral strain and saw just 25 snaps in Week 2.

“It’s just me just getting back out there on the football field and just knocking some of the rust off,” Hargrave told reporters, “and trying to get back out there with the guys. I’m just happy to be inserted with another group of dogs, and I’m ready to just start getting it, taking off, and start working with them.”

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