Can the Bengals stop Henry and the Titans?

With the Tennessee Titans, the winners of the AFC enter the NFL Playoffs on Saturday. When they do, they’ll also be joined by a player who has been sorely missed in recent weeks: Derrick Henry should be able to lace up his shoes again after his knee injury.

How fit he already is again is, of course, another matter entirely. Thanks in part to his presence, the Titans are seen as the clear favourites by the bookmakers, although this is viewed ambivalently in expert circles.

The Titans have had the bigger break and should be rested, but the Bengals come to Tennessee on the high of their first playoff win in 31 years. If that doesn’t give you an extra boost.

Therefore, our prediction for Titans vs. Bengals is also a 50:50 duel, in which we believe Cincinnati has a good chance of pulling off a small surprise. The pressure to get that first playoff win seems to be off and everything that comes now is an encore.

Kickoff for the first game of the second round of the playoffs is Saturday night at 10:30pm in Nashville, Tennessee. This can be watched live on ProSieben or DAZN.

Tennessee Titans – Statistics & current form

The Titans are getting into the action and with them Derrick Henry. The Titans’ star running back had been out since Halloween and still ended up as the 9th player with the most rushing yards – almost surreal.

But even without Henry, Tennessee managed to win the AFC, something few had thought they could do. That certainly speaks well for head coach Mike Vrabel, whose game plan worked out perfectly with backup D’Onta Foreman.

Will the Titans also overrun the Bengals?

This of course raises the question of what impact Henry’s return will have on the Titans game and how many snaps he will see. We would be cautious with predictions, because his injury was no small matter.

So it is also within the realm of possibility that his knee will hurt again after three runs and that he will be out of the game from then on. Of course, that would greatly reduce Tennessee’s chances of winning, which is why we would also avoid betting on the Titans.

Defense bears the brunt

An interesting fact is that these two quarterbacks met once before last year, before Burrow injured his knee so badly. Back then, the Bengals made short work of the Titans, and that was despite Derrick Henry running for 112 yards and a touchdown.

This shows that Tennessee should not only rely on their running back. It is much more important for their defence to keep the Bengals under 25 points. They’ve managed to do that in four of their last six games this season – albeit against teams like the Jaguars and Dolphins.

We see this matchup as critical for the Titans, as Henry might still be a little rusty and Tannehill doesn’t come close to matching Joe Burrow. In this respect, a bet on the Bengals in Tennessee vs. Cincinnati is also recommended because of the value.

Key Players:
QB: Ryan Tannehill
RB: Derrick Henry
WR: Julio Jones
WR: A.J. Brown
K: Randy Bullock

Cincinnati Bengals – Statistics & current form

The Bengals won a playoff game after 31 long years – thanks to Joe Burrow. He won his very first post-season game, which should further underpin his status as a saviour in Cincinnati.

With the Titans they have now even got a quite pleasant second opponent, even if that is of course a relative term in the NFL. But all better than if the Chiefs had gotten the bye week and were now on the other side on Saturday.

Start of game crucial

What stood out in the first playoff round was that the start to the games was crucial . In all six games, the team that led at half-time ended up winning. Cincinnati also got off to the better start against Las Vegas and led 20-13 at the break.

This could be the Bengals’ big chance against a team that has had a 14-day break and should have a little trouble getting going. With a completion percentage of 70.6 and two touchdowns, Burrow had a very good day in Round 1.

He should be able to do that again on Saturday, as he faces a Tennessee pass defence that allows the eighth-most yards per game (245.2 per game). So the matchup certainly suits the Bengals’ quarterback.

Bengals the dark horse of this year’s playoffs?

This could make Cincinnati the surprise team this year. After all, they also kept the upper hand in the Regular Season against a potential AFC Championship Game opponent in Kansas City. And with the current momentum? Nothing is out of the question.

For Titans vs Bengals, the odds on them are definitely worth a bet. Because we don’t expect Cincinnati to be such underdogs against Tennessee. After all, their own rushing defence is also in the top 5 with just 102.5 yards allowed per game.

Key Players:
QB: Joe Burrow
RB: Joe Mixon
WR: Ja’Marr Chase
TE: Jonah Williams
K: Evan McPherson

Tennessee Titans – Cincinnati Bengals Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

We have already briefly discussed the last meeting between these two teams. That meeting took place in the preseason in Cincinnati and went quite clearly to the Bengals. Burrow delivered an outstanding game with a rating of 106.7 points in the 31:20 win.

His counterpart Tannehill only scored 92.8 points and threw an interception. Since both teams are still playing with almost exactly the same line-up, this result from 2020 should definitely be taken into consideration as an important criterion for Saturday.

In any case, we see an even game coming up, which makes the odds on Cincinnati much more bettable in Titans vs. Bengals.

Tennessee Titans – Cincinnati Bengals Tip

The bookmakers see Tennessee ahead by 3-4 points after all – an exciting assessment that certainly has a lot to do with Derrick Henry. Of course, he could decide the game single-handedly, but we don’t expect that after such a serious injury.

With the visitors also fielding a top-5 run defence, we do see this matchup going in the Bengals’ favour. For Tennessee vs. Cincinnati, the odds on the Bengals are therefore our clear No. 1 betting option with or without a handicap.

Alternatively, a bet on a rushing touchdown by Joe Mixon is also in play. With 13 rushing touchdowns in the regular season, he was the third most successful rusher in the entire league.