PHILADELPHIA -- The last time the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, Veterans Stadium was in existence and Andy Reid was in his second year as the Eagles head coach. Yes, it's been a long time since Philadelphia defeated Cincinnati -- December 24, 2000 to be exact.
Two losses and two ties later, the Eagles will look for their first victory against the Bengals since 2000. The Eagles have actually never won in Cincinnati, a fact even head coach Nick Sirianni was surprised to find out.
"I did not even know that," Sirianni said. "I think it's an interesting stat and an interesting thing. I don't think it's productive for us to think about that. It's productive for us to go, 'Okay, hey, we're playing in a hostile environment, so we've got to do the things we need to do to prepare for a hostile environment.'
"So we're going about our process the exact same way as if we were undefeated there."
The Eagles will try to win their first game in Cincinnati Sunday, facing a tough challenge as the Bengals need a victory to get their season back on track. A win for Philadelphia would set the Eagles up in prime position to make a run at the NFC East as November is set to hit.
Who has the edge in Sunday's showdown between the Eagles and Bengals on CBS? Let's preview this inter-conference matchup.
Where to watch Eagles at Bengals
Date: Sunday, Oct. 27 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)
Channel: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (try it free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Bengals -2.5, O/U 48 via BetMGM Sportsbook
Check out the latest BetMGM promo to get in the game
Fred Johnson vs. Trey Hendrickson
With Jordan Mailata on injured reserve (hamstring), Johnson will fill in as the Eagles starting left tackle for the second straight game. The Eagles did consider Mekhi Becton to play left tackle for this week, but Becton has been out since Sunday with a concussion (and won't play this week).
So it will be Johnson -- the former Bengal -- against one of the best pass rushers in the NFL in Hendrickson. Johnson has allowed a lot of pressures in his three games, 21 in 97 pass-blocking snaps. The pressure allowed per dropback of 21.6% is ranked 168th out of 168 qualified offensive linemen.
Hendrickson is responsible for 36.3% of Bengals sacks since joining team in 202, the highest by any player for any team in NFL. Coming off consecutive games with 2+ sacks, Hendrickson has three multi-sack games this season -- which is tied for the most in the NFL. His 7.0 sacks are tied for fourth in the NFL, which present a monster challenge for Mailata and the Eagles passing game.
Top receiving duos square off
If Tee Higgins is able to play, this matchup will feature two of the top receiving duos in the NFL with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith (Eagles) and Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins (Bengals). Brown/Smith and Chase/Higgins are tied for the most receiving touchdowns by a teammate duo (37) since the start of the 2022 season.
Brown and Smith trail only Tyreek Hill and Jayden Waddle for most receiving yards by a teammate duo since 2022 (5,839), while Chase and Higgins are fifth (4,908). This season, Chase and Higgins are second in receiving yards by a teammate duo (961) trailing only Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs (982).
This is the first matchup between Brown/Smith and Chase/Higgins, a matchup well respected in the Eagles locker room.
"Ja'Marr is incredible. He's definitely one of the top receivers in the game right now," Browns said. "Some of the stuff he does only he can do. I'm definitely going to be watching to see little things, if I can learn something from him. I'm going to be watching."
Prediction
The Bengals and Eagles should be able to get their sacks in this game, especially with the Eagles' situation at left tackle and how well Philadelphia's pass rush as fared the past few weeks. The matchup will come down to the run, as the Bengals are last in defensive rush success rate (49.5%) while the Eagles are second in yards before contact per rush (2.06).
If the Eagles can get Saquon Barkley going as the game wears on, they have the advantage.
I'm betting: Eagles 27, Bengals 24
Bonus: The SportsLine projection model is leaning on the Over ahead of this matchup between these two teams. Check out who it's backing ATS, here.
