Bengals vs. Saints 2014: 3 questions for battle of playoff contenders

The Saints and Bengals are both in the NFL playoffs if the season ended today, but that might not be the case for the loser of this contest.

by Jason Marcum

Nov 15, 2014, 2:00 PM UTC

Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

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The Cincinnati Bengals head to the Big Easy to face the New Orleans Saints in a battle of two teams struggling to stay in the NFL playoff picture. The 4-5 Saints lead the AFC South, which has become the worst division in football, and the 3-6-1 Carolina Panthers are the closest team to them. New Orleans is coming off a hard-fought overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

That game saw the Saints take their first lead of the day with less than two minutes left to play after Drew Brees hit Jimmy Graham for the go-ahead score, but Colin Kaepernick led the Niners to the game-tying field goal. Once the game went into overtime, linebacker Ahmad Brooks sacked Brees and forced a fumble. Rookie linebacker Chris Borland jumped on the loose ball, and Phil Dawson booted a 35-yard field goal to give San Francisco an improbable 27-24 win.

As for the Bengals, they're coming off a far more embarrassing loss, which has been the case for them in recent prime time showings. They hosted the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 10 and played arguably their worst game of the year.

Whether Cincinnati is able to solve some of its recent struggles will be among the major deciding factors of the game. Here are three things that may have a major impact.

1. Can Andy Dalton rebound from a horrendous showing?

The Bengals were beaten in most facets of the game against Cleveland, but Dalton had one of the worst games of his four-year career. He completed just 10 of 33 passes for 86 yards and threw three interceptions. Even more troubling, it was only the latest game in a recent string of poor performances.

Over his past four games, Dalton completed just 68-of-130 passes (52 percent) for 711 yards with just two touchdowns against six interceptions. Unsurprisingly, the Bengals have gone 2-2 in those games, and with a far more difficult stretch of games coming up, it’s easy to see why there’s doubt Dalton can lead Cincinnati to the postseason again.

He'll get a good chance to rebound this week against a Saints defense that ranks 24th against the pass. With A.J. Green back and healthy, Dalton will have his favorite target to throw to as well.

2. Can the Bengals defense slow the Saints down?

The Bengals have one of the worst defenses in football. They currently sit at No. 20 in pass defense and No. 31 in run defense. That's led to the 28th-overall defense that may actually be worse than what normal statistics show. According to Pro Football Focus' advanced metrics, the Bengals' defense is rock bottom.

That’s bad news with a red-hot Saints offense on deck. New Orleans sports the NFL’s No. 6 scoring offense, averaging 27.9 points per game. The Bengals have allowed 86 combined points in three road games this year, an average of 28.7 per game.

The Saints’ 27.9 point per contest jumps to 31.3 per game at home. It’s hard to see the Bengals defense completely stopping the Saints offense, but Cincinnati could slow New Orleans down enough while the Bengals offense scores just enough to escape with a win.

3. Can Mark Ingram keep up his torrid pace?

One of the best NFL running backs (when healthy) this year has surprisingly been Mark Ingram. In just six games, Ingram has rushed for 551 yards and six scores, but it’s his recent stretch of games that’s opening eyes. Ingram rushed for 392 yards and three scores over his past three outings, an average of 130.1 yards per game.

Playing in a contract year, Ingram will have a favorable matchup against a Bengals defense that’s allowing 143 rushing yards per contest. Needless to say, Ingram is in for a big day if the game script allows the Saints to keep getting him the ball for four quarters.