NFL Football Thanksgiving: Bengals – Jets

The Cincinnati Bengals and their primadona wide receivers travel to the new Meadowlands Stadium to take on the New York Jets in the sole Thanksgiving evening NFL match-up in Week 12.

Fans attending the game may opt to BYOF (bring your own flashlight) after last week’s temporary power outage at the new Meadowlands Stadium in the 3rd quarter of the Giants – Cowboys game.

The Bengals Jets contest is the third of three games being played on Thanksgiving. The first kicks off at 12:30 pm with the New England Patriots visiting the Detroit Lions. Then, in the mid-afternoon 4:15 start; the New Orleans Saints take on Jerry Jones’s Dallas Cowboys in Texas.

BENGALS JETS: GAME DAY PARTICULARS
Visitors	Cincinnati Bengals (2-8)
Home	New York Jets (8-2)
When	Thursday Nov 25 08:20 pm EST
Where	Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Weather	Rain, Drizzle 40º F
TV	NFL Network
Favorite	Jets -9
Under/Over	43.5

BENGALS JETS PREVIEW
Although the New York Jets share the lead with the Patriots in the AFC East they’ve had to pull out last minute wins in their previous 3 games against teams with a combined record of 9-21.

The Jets needed a field goal as time expired in regulation to beat the Detroit Lions (2-8) on Nov 7. They needed an overtime TD pass from Sanchez to Holmes to beat the Cleveland Browns (3-7) 26-20. And last week, the Jets needed 20 4th quarter points, including a touchdown pass with 6 seconds remaining to beat the 4-6 Houston Texans 30-27.

There’s really nothing to talk about on the other side. Going into NFL Week 12, the Bengals are 2-8, having lost their last seven games. Their last win goes all the back to September 26 against the 1-9 Carolina Panthers. The Bengals lack of success against the run has been the contributing factor to their dismal record in 2010.

But the Bengals do have a pair of primadonna wide receivers in Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens, but the Jets counter these passing threats with a less obnoxious but super-talented defensive duo in Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie.

BENGALS JETS INJURIES

Cincinnati Bengals Injury Notables
Player	Pos	Injury	Status
Tank Johnson	DT	Right Knee	Injured Reserve
Antwan Odom	DE	Wrist	Out
Cedric Benson	RB	Foot	Questionable
Rey Maualuga	LB	Thigh	Questionable

New York Jets Injury Notables
Player	Pos	Injury	Status
Dwight Lowery	CB	Concussion	Out
Marquice Cole	CB	Hamstring	Out
Jerricho Cotchery	WR	Groin	Out

* Players listed as Probable not listed

BENGALS JETS ANALYSIS
The most glaring statistic is the Lions lack of rushing yards per game. If the Bengals can’t run against the Jets, forget about it. The dynamic defensive duo of Revis and Cromartie are more than enough to stop Ochocinco and Owens in the air.

Injuries shouldn’t be a big factor. The Jets will be without WR Jerricho Cotchery but it shouldn’t make a big difference since the Jets will win this game on the ground.

As for Cincinnati, QB Carson Palmer and the rest of the Bengals offense will be stymied by the Jets defense. However, the Jets defense has given up more points than most analysts and experts expected.

Bengals OFFENSE Ranking		Jets DEFENSE Ranking
Rush Yds/Gms	96.6 23rd	Rush Yds/Gms	90.3 5th
Pass Yds/Gms	249.6 8th	Pass Yds/Gms	220.0 16th
Tot Yds/Gms	346.2 14th	Tot Yds/Gms	310.3 7th

Jets OFFENSE Ranking		Bengals DEFENSE Ranking
Rush Yds/Gms	145.9 4th	Rush Yds/Gms	118.3 23rd
Pass Yds/Gms	220.0 17th	Pass Yds/Gms	223.0 18th
Tot Yds/Gms	365.9 9th	Tot Yds/Gms	341.3 18th

BENGALS JETS GAME PREDICTION
The Bengals will be in for a long night. The Jets rushing attack, lead by Ladainian Tomlinson (153 Att, 692 Yds. 5 TDs) and Shonn Greene (122 Att, 505 Yds, 1 TD), will allow the Jets to dominate the time of possession and give the Jets the points they need to beat the spread.

The nflthisweek.com predicts the Jets will win outright and the spread.
Take the Jets (-9) and the Over (43.5)

JETS 28  17

Source: foxsports.com