Our writers make their picks for Week 8

The Eagles will visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. Here are our writers’ predictions for Week 8.

Jeff McLane

The Bengals are hard to figure out through seven games. They have quarterback Joe Burrow playing at an elite level coming off last season’s wrist injury. He has one of best receiving combos in the NFL in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincinnati’s offense has been productive, but something’s been missing and the unit hasn’t been strong enough to offset its defensive woes. The 3-4 Bengals have won three of their last four, but not against a quality opponent. Lou Anarumo’s defense has allowed only 21 points to the last two opponents, but the Giants and Browns aren’t exactly high-powered, as the Eagles can attest. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s tinkering of his defensive personnel has seemingly righted the ship. But Burrow and his top receivers will present the toughest test yet.

I screwed up last week and picked the Giants, even though, as I stated, the Eagles were the better team on paper and were capable of winning in a blowout. The Giants had to be close to perfect to win and were far from it. This one is more of a toss-up and both teams are still without an identity. But I think the Eagles have found some of their mojo, and I think Nick Sirianni will do what it takes to win now — ride Saquon Barkley and Kenneth Gainwell more than he likely wants — at the expense of what it will take to beat top-tier teams.

Prediction: Eagles 25, Bengals 23

Jeff Neiburg

There’s reason for the Eagles to fear Burrow and the wide receiver duo of Chase and Higgins, too. Darius Slay has been a little banged up in recent weeks, and even then may be a little overmatched by this combination. Quinyon Mitchell has had a nice start to his rookie season, but this will be a real test.

The Eagles are a perfect 2-0 out of their bye week, but in a game that could end up being a shootout of sorts, is it safe to trust the Eagles offense to keep up if it has to? If the Eagles are trailing late, is it safe to trust that the pass protection will hold up?

I don’t think so. At least not yet. The Eagles are going to need to prove it first.

Prediction: Bengals 30, Eagles 27

Olivia Reiner

The Bengals offense is going to present a far greater test than the teams that the Eagles defense has faced in the last two weeks. Burrow is getting the ball out quickly, attempting a quick pass on 53.5% of his attempts this season (third-highest in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats) with a lot of success (77.7% completion). The Eagles struggled with defending the quick game in Week 4 against the Buccaneers and need to have a better plan this time around.

Chase and Higgins comprise the most formidable receiving duo that Mitchell and Slay have faced so far this season. Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are going to play critical roles in bracketing the top receivers at times in key situations. If this game turns into a shootout, I’m not sure if the Eagles’ passing game has shown enough to be given the edge at this point in the season.

Prediction: Bengals 31, Eagles 27

EJ Smith

Both defenses have settled in toward the middle of the pack after shaky starts to the year, but neither have faced the caliber of offense they’ll see this Sunday. Both offenses have flashed potential to maximize the talent they each possess as well, but both have shown their potential for stagnation in key moments plenty this season.

The Eagles’ best plan is likely to lean even further into their run-first approach and continue giving Jalen Hurts license to take downfield shots as a counter off the steady rushing attack. An early deficit may force them to be more aggressive downfield, but the recent returns from the passing game make that a daunting proposition. Playing for ball control and hoping the defense can stem the tide early may be the best path forward.

Prediction: Eagles 27, Bengals 24

The Eagles will visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon. Here are our writers’ predictions for Week 8.

Jeff McLane

The Bengals are hard to figure out through seven games. They have quarterback Joe Burrow playing at an elite level coming off last season’s wrist injury. He has one of best receiving combos in the NFL in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincinnati’s offense has been productive, but something’s been missing and the unit hasn’t been strong enough to offset its defensive woes. The 3-4 Bengals have won three of their last four, but not against a quality opponent. Lou Anarumo’s defense has allowed only 21 points to the last two opponents, but the Giants and Browns aren’t exactly high-powered, as the Eagles can attest. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s tinkering of his defensive personnel has seemingly righted the ship. But Burrow and his top receivers will present the toughest test yet.

Burrow likes to get the ball out quick, so the Eagles will need to tackle well in space. They’ve been better in that regard since the disaster in Tampa. Burrow also likes to throw in between the numbers, so middle field defenders like linebackers Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun (if healthy) and slot cornerback Cooper DeJean will have to be on their keys, especially in zone coverages. But cornerbacks Darius Slay and Quinyon Mitchell will be most responsible for Chase and Higgins. Chase leads the NFL in receiving yards and touchdowns entering Week 8 and is dangerous after the catch. The 6-foot-4 Higgins is physical and wins contested throws. The Bengals are a little predictable in that Burrow lines up in the shotgun a lot, they don’t use play-action much, and they like to use two-tight end sets. That may sound familiar to Eagles fans.

» READ MORE: Quinyon Mitchell Q&A: Eagles rookie weighs in on his nicknames, love of baseball, and more

Fangio’s pass rushers need to stay patient. Burrow is not Daniel Jones nor Deshaun Watson and will throw to covered first reads because he’s so accurate. The Bengals will lean on the run and have a weapon in Chase Brown — Eagles safety Sydney’s twin — who can break off big gains. If the Eagles can’t force Cincinnati into third-and-longs, they’ll have little chance to get to Burrow, who can succumb to pressure.

The Bengals defense can be run on. The Eagles have an opportunity to build off last week’s momentum against the Giants and emphasize the ground game. They may need to adjust if Anarumo stacks the box on run-obvious downs. But early touches for Saquon Barkley could go a long way in offsetting Jalen Hurts’ first-quarter struggles. The Eagles haven’t had great success in the plus-one quarterback run calls, but Cincinnati has been among the worst in the league at defending the zone read. A few early Hurts keeps could go a long way.

He’s going to have to drop to pass, of course. Hurts seems to be seeing ghosts in the pocket. Fred Johnson struggled a little at the start of last week’s game, but Jordan Mailata’s replacement at left tackle settled in, especially once Kellen Moore dialed up more rushes. He’s going to need some help in the pass rush vs. Trey Hendrickson, who lines up almost exclusively on the right. Hendrickson is among the NFL leaders in all pass rush categories. Anarumo tries to compensate for what he lacks in other areas by varying his scheme on a bi-weekly and bi-snap basis. Moore has to be ready for anything and Hurts has to be ready for the blitz. He’s gotten progressively worse against extra rushers after a solid start to the season. But he has A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith to throw the ball up to, and his receivers should have decided advantages over Bengals cornerbacks DJ Turner and Cam Taylor-Britt on the outside.

I screwed up last week and picked the Giants, even though, as I stated, the Eagles were the better team on paper and were capable of winning in a blowout. The Giants had to be close to perfect to win and were far from it. This one is more of a toss-up and both teams are still without an identity. But I think the Eagles have found some of their mojo, and I think Nick Sirianni will do what it takes to win now — ride Barkley and Kenneth Gainwell more than he likely wants — at the expense of what it will take to beat top-tier teams.

Prediction: Eagles 25, Bengals 23

Jeff Neiburg

Johnson had to deal with Brian Burns when he made his first start at left tackle filling in for Mailata last week. There’s rarely a week off in the NFL. Next up for Johnson: Hendrickson, who is tied for fourth in the NFL with seven sacks on the season.

The Eagles struggled in pass protection during their blowout win over the Giants last weekend. But they found success on a couple explosive plays, especially from Barkley. Run blocking is easier than pass blocking, and assuming the Eagles aren’t playing from behind too often on Sunday, expect them to realize that their best path to victory Sunday and — and future Sundays, for that matter — is to give the ball to Barkley more often than not.

This isn’t a particularly good Bengals defense. It’s in the bottom half of the NFL in both passing and rushing defense. Like the Eagles, Cincinnati has looked good over the last two weeks playing against the Giants and Browns. Cincinnati is 3-4 and doesn’t have a good win yet. Its wins are against Carolina, New York, and Cleveland.

This one feels like a classic toss-up, with the Bengals just a narrow two-point favorite at some sportsbooks over the Eagles.

There is reason to believe in the defensive performances the Eagles have put together recently, even against lesser competition. There’s reason to believe the Eagles will run the ball effectively and control the game the best they can.

» READ MORE: Eagles edge rusher Nolan Smith ‘riding that wave’ with two sacks in the last two games

But there’s reason for the Eagles to fear Burrow and the wide receiver duo of Chase and Higgins, too. Slay has been a little banged up in recent weeks, and even then may be a little overmatched by this combination. Mitchell has had a nice start to his rookie season, but this will be a real test.

The Eagles are a perfect 2-0 out of their bye week, but in a game that could end up being a shootout of sorts, is it safe to trust the Eagles offense to keep up if it has to? If the Eagles are trailing late, is it safe to trust that the pass protection will hold up?

I don’t think so. At least not yet. The Eagles are going to need to prove it first.

Prediction: Bengals 30, Eagles 27

Olivia Reiner

The Bengals are 3-4 (No. 3 in the AFC North) and beat the lowly Browns by just one score last week, but they possess a few key matchup advantages on both sides of the ball that ought to concern the Eagles.

The Cincinnati defense is relatively underwhelming (No. 20 in points against, No. 22 in yards against) aside from defensive end Hendrickson, who has the fourth-most pressures (34) and the fourth-most sacks (seven) in the NFL this year, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. He has lined up on the right side of the defense on the majority of his snaps, which means that backup left tackle Johnson is likely to be tasked with shutting him down.

This marks the second straight week in which Johnson will face a premier edge rusher. Last week, it was Burns, who registered a sack against Johnson. In an effort to minimize Hendrickson’s impact, it would benefit the Eagles this week to a) get the run game going, both utilizing both Barkley’s and Hurts’ talents, and b) lean into the quick-passing game. The latter seems more unlikely, given that Hurts has averaged the third-longest time to throw in the league this season (3.08 seconds), according to Next Gen Stats.

» READ MORE: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is finding balance between taking care of the football and hitting explosive plays

Explosive passing plays might be harder to come by, too — the Bengals defense has allowed six completions for 241 yards on 25 deep targets (24% completion percentage, sixth lowest in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats). The Hurts-Brown connection on deep balls has been a strength of the offense, especially in recent weeks. It’s imperative for Hurts to get into a rhythm early if they want to create opportunities for explosives as the game progresses.

The Bengals offense is going to present a far greater test than the teams that the Eagles defense has faced in the last two weeks. Burrow is getting the ball out quickly, attempting a quick pass on 53.5% of his attempts this season (third-highest in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats) with a lot of success (77.7% completion). The Eagles struggled with defending the quick game in Week 4 against the Buccaneers and need to have a better plan this time around.

Chase and Higgins comprise the most formidable receiving duo that Mitchell and Slay have faced so far this season. Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson are going to play critical roles in bracketing the top receivers at times in key situations. If this game turns into a shootout, I’m not sure if the Eagles’ passing game has shown enough to be given the edge at this point in the season.

Prediction: Bengals 31, Eagles 27

EJ Smith

In terms of volatility this season, the Eagles may be meeting their match this Sunday in Cincinnati.

The Bengals have been just as difficult to pin down so far this year and share some of the same weekly challenges the Eagles have, especially on offense. The group led by Burrow and Chase can be over-reliant on deep shots to its best players and have gone through glaring dry spells on third downs as well. Both the Eagles and the Bengals are winners of two straight — both against the Giants and the Browns ironically enough — but both feel shaky going into this Sunday’s matchup with something on the line.

The Bengals have more at stake given their record. And Burrow has gotten off to a significantly better start to the season than Hurts statistically. He’s second in the NFL in passer rating, eighth in yards per attempt, and fourth in completion percentage.

None of that helped him against the Browns last Sunday, though, when the Bengals went 2-for-13 on third downs en route to a clunky win. The only team that fared worse on third down in Week 7 than Burrow’s Bengals? The Eagles, who went 1-for-13 against the Giants with plenty of clunkiness of their own albeit overshadowed by Barkley’s dominant performance against his old team.

» READ MORE: Saquon Barkley’s selflessness in the Giants game was especially meaningful to Eagles rookie Will Shipley

That volatility on third downs makes this game feel like a toss-up. Both defenses have settled in toward the middle of the pack after shaky starts to the year, but neither have faced the caliber of offense they’ll see this Sunday. Both offenses have flashed potential to maximize the talent they each possess as well, but both have shown their potential for stagnation in key moments plenty this season.

The Eagles’ best plan is likely to lean even further into their run-first approach and continue giving Hurts license to take downfield shots as a counter off the steady rushing attack. An early deficit may force them to be more aggressive downfield, but the recent returns from the passing game make that a daunting proposition. Playing for ball control and hoping the defense can stem the tide early may be the best path forward.

With both the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers at 5-2 already, the Bengals need this game far more than the Eagles do. But without knowing which version of these teams will turn up Sunday, I’m choosing to balance out our predictions rather than commit one way or the other.

Prediction: Eagles 27, Bengals 24

The Eagles play in Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Paycor Stadium.