Michael McQuaid of Pro Football Ireland looks at some of the key storylines ahead of the ninth week of the 2024 NFL season, which gets underway tonight (1.15am Irish time) with the visit of the Houston Texans to the New York Jets. Must win for Cincinnati Through eight weeks, the Cincinnati Bengals are 3-5 and expectations are slipping.
Last week, the Eagles defeated the Bengals by twenty points.This week, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow knows that while it's the halfway point of the regular season this weekend, the time to perform is now."This is a must-win game", he said."We're 3-5.
You go to 3-6, you basically have to win out."In that sense, every game is now a cup final for Burrow and his men. This weekend, they welcome the Raiders to Paycor Stadium.Through eight weeks, the Raiders sit with six losses on their record book.
The team are in the bottom half of the league in defensive stats as they are ranked 26th out of 32 teams on third down conversions, with a 29% success rate.