With the College Football Playoff kicking off, here are some of the most notable NFL Draft prospects to watch for this weekend.

Alabama vs Oklahoma (Friday) 8:00 p.m. ET

Alabama against Oklahoma is a rematch from earlier this season. Oklahoma pulled out a close victory against the Crimson Tide 23 to 21 in that game. I expect this game to come right down to the wire once again. We have previously discussed some Alabama prospects like Kadyn Proctor, Tim Keenan III, Deontae Lawson, and Keon Sabb. The Cincinnati Bengals could be looking to add a cornerback to replace Cam...

The 4-10 Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Miami to face the 6-8 Miami Dolphins. There really isn’t anything on the line in this game for either team. The Dolphins have decided to go ahead and bench Tua Tagovailoa, opting to start rookie Quinn Ewers in his place this week. The Cincinnati Bengals have said they plan to start Joe Burrow for the rest of the season.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at three key players for the matchup this week.

Joe Burrow

I normally wouldn’t even put Joe Burrow as a key player; that is typically...

History has a funny way of repeating itself. If you’ve been around long enough, you might remember the plane that flew over training camp in the late 2000s, towing a banner urging Mike Brown to sell the Bengals.

Nearly 20 years later, that same frustration has resurfaced—this time in billboard form.

Drivers heading southbound on I-75 may notice a sign on Spring Grove Avenue near Bank Street that reads, in three blunt lines of orange and white text on a black background: “Fire Zac. Fire Duke. Save Burrow.”

The message is unmistakable. It’s aimed at head coach Zac Taylor and...

The Cincinnati Bengals take on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday in a game featuring two teams eliminated from playoff contention. Miami will be starting a rookie quarterback and both teams seem to have a fairly lengthy injury report.

For the Bengals, defensive tackles B.J. Hill and Kris Jenkins Jr. missed their second consecutive practices on the week. The interior of the Bengals’ defensive line could be extremely thin if they can’t play Sunday. We could see some defensive lineman called up from the practice squad.

Furthering the concerns on the defensive line, Joseph Ossai (ankle) also missed practice. The Bengals...

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Will the Cincinnati Bengals get back in the win column with a trip to Florida?

Offensive Connections

The offense was out of sync last week. Burrow was missing protection calls, he wasn’t spinning the ball how he likes it, and receivers were dropping catchable balls.

They cannot afford to have games like that, particularly this deep into the season. Burrow came out of the gates hot with that win over the Ravens the first time around, but since then, the offense has been in September mode.

This team is built around its passing game. They cannot drop the ball...

Darkness.

As I examined the rest of the Bengals’ schedule after their most recent loss, I realized that they might now win another game.

There are the Dolphins, who have a history of blowing it against, the Cardinals, who have tight end Trey McBride, who is likely to put up insane numbers against these safeties, and the Browns, who just seem to have the Bengals’ number inexplicably, thanks in large part to Myles Garrett, who’s chasing the single-season sacks record.

Honestly, then I listened to some other podcasts and heard what the downers have to say, and said to myself,...

Zac Taylor ducks questions about reported secret contract extension

Taylor attempted to massage this a bit by going into expected coach-speak about coaching every game like his job is on the line: “You coach every game like it could be your last game.”

Quick Hits | Joe Burrow-Tua Matchup Ditched As No. 1 Plays No. 231; Zac Taylor Gives DJ Turner II Pro Bowl Nod

“I think that Mike does a great job with the scheme. I don’t want to call it unique because we’ve seen it over the years with him at different places,” said Taylor, who beat McDaniel...

The Cincinnati Bengals won’t play in the postseason this year, but they do have three games remaining, starting Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. In a lost season, some players may be a little more cautious playing through injuries as the season comes to a close.

The team released their first injury report for Week 16, and we got a look at who could be in jeopardy of missing time this week. The practice was essentially a walkthrough, so keep that in mind.

Quarterback Joe Burrow (knee) appeared on the report, but practiced in full Wednesday. Media members said they noticed...

When the Cincinnati Bengals selected Joe Burrow first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, right behind him in the consensus quarterback rankings was Tua Tagovailoa. Some even claimed Tagovailoa was the better prospect before Burrow landed in Cincinnati and Tagovailoa in Miami.

Six seasons later, the two were set to face off against each other this weekend. In a meeting that was originally slated for Sunday Night Football before being flexed out, it turns out we won’t see the two SEC products go head-to-head Sunday.

Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel alluded to the possibility of a change earlier in the...

Bengals News

Bengals have kept an important secret about Zac Taylor, which now changes how his job security looks

As the Cincinnati Bengals’ season continues to spiral in the wrong direction, questions about head coach Zac Taylor’s job security have become more rampant.

Bengals’ Ted Karras says Walter Payton Man of the Year would be ‘an award for the whole town’

Bengals center Ted Karras has been named the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, recognizing his exceptional community service through The Cincy Hat Foundation.

[Former Bengals draft pick finally breaking out with...

The Cincinnati Bengals have invested heavily in edge rushers in recent years in hopes of replacing Trey Hendrickson’s production.

But neither 2023 first round pick Myles Murphy nor this year’s first-rounder, Shemar Stewart, has reached stardom yet.

So it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that some NFL analysts see Cincinnati spending yet another first round pick on a pass rusher.

Here is why Pro Football Focus’ Max Chadwick thinks the Bengals could take David Bailey out of Texas Tech:

The Bengals are the only defense in the NFL ranking bottom-five in both run-defense grade and pass-rush grade, making the...