Following Zack Moss’ season-ending neck injury, the Cincinnati Bengals felt compelled to bring in another running back. So, they traded for Chicago Bears RB Khalil Herbert.
Despite having been with the team just two days, Herbert has a chance to play tonight against the Baltimore Ravens. Quarterback Joe Burrow has a plan to make sure Herbert knows what he’s doing if he sees the field.
Pivotal Divisional Matchup for Bengals vs. Ravens
Both the Ravens and Bengals got off to slow starts to the 2024 NFL season. Baltimore lost its first two games of the season, while Cincinnati dropped its first three. Yet, these two teams have been the class of the AFC North recently, with one of them claiming the past three divisional crowns.
This is the second matchup up of the season for the division rivals. They first met in Week 5, playing what many consider to be the game of the year thus far. The Bengals wound up suffering their fourth loss of the season, falling in an overtime thriller by the score of 41-38. As you can see by the final score, no defense was played.
Five weeks later, these teams meet again. Baltimore is in a much better position, sitting one game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers in the loss column for the divisional lead.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati has climbed back into Wild Card contention with three wins in its last four games and is one game behind the Denver Broncos for the final playoff spot.
Bengals Surprise With 4th-Ever NFL Trade Deadline Deal
The Bengals do not have a lengthy history of deadline deals. In fact, their trade for Herbert marked just the fourth time in franchise history that they made a deal at the NFL trade deadline. It was hardly a major deal, either.
Bears to trade RB Khalil Herbert to Bengals for a 2025 7th-round draft pick. (via @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/Rc5cagHj36
— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2024
Cincinnati basically got Herbert for free. It’s a no-risk move for a team severely lacking in running back depth following the loss of Moss.
Behind Chase Brown, the Bengals only had Trayveon Williams, who hasn’t exactly earned the confidence of the team’s leader.
Burrow was PISSED after this play.
Turn the volume up and watch. pic.twitter.com/TlBFWuzFru— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) November 4, 2024
Moss was the Bengals’ top pass protector and very good in the role. Williams…not so much.
In an effort to avoid having Brown play literally all of the snaps, the move for Herbert makes sense. Herbert is a veteran who has shown an ability to handle a significant workload in the past. Once he gets up to speed, he will serve as a nice complement to Brown. And that process could start as early as tonight.
Joe Burrow Leads Bengals Through Slow Season Start
Since the Bengals drafted Burrow, he’s been one of the team’s leaders. If anyone can dig his team out of an early-season hole, it’s Burrow. He certainly has the experience.
In 2022, the Bengals started out 0-2 and were 4-4 after Week 8 before winning the rest of their games. A year later, Cincinnati again started out 0-2 and was 1-3 before rattling off four straight. Unfortunately, Cincy’s comeback was derailed when Burrow suffered his season-ending wrist injury in Week 11 against these very Ravens.
Now, Burrow is one win away from bringing the Bengals back to .500 after their notoriously slow start. A prime example of his leadership is how he plans to help Herbert along as the new Bengal learns the playbook.
Joe Burrow was asked if it's possible for Khalil Herbert to learn the offense quick enough, to play Thursday night.
"He's standing next to me and doesn't know what to do. I lean over & tell him. He's right next to me."
Herbert was acquired in a trade today.#Bengals @WCPO pic.twitter.com/QpHJcVyhz5
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) November 5, 2024
As a quarterback, Burrow must know not only his assignments on each play but also what everyone else is doing.
If Herbert does get into the game, he’s not going to be asked to do anything complicated. On a run play, he just needs to go where the play is designed. On pass plays, if he’s out there, his job will be to block a certain pass rusher or run a certain route.
If Herbert doesn’t know the play call, Burrow will do exactly what he said he would — tell him what to do.
Having already dropped their home game against the Ravens, it is imperative that the Bengals level the season series by getting one in Baltimore if they are to have any chance of challenging for the division.
Still, even if Cincinnati does suffer another defeat, this team has the talent and ability to overcome it and win six of its final seven games to have a good chance at making the playoffs.