Top 10 Bengals Philadelphia Eagles must account for to avoid another loss

A pair of youngsters could pose a threat to the Philadelphia Eagles defense.

There’s a reason why the Bengals picked first in 2020’s draft. They simply weren’t that good at playing professional football in 2019. They ranked 30th in points scored and 25th in points allowed. Moreover, they allowed opposing teams to score 141 more points than they put up themselves. Those aren’t the best ingredients in a recipe for winning games.

The Bengals do have some young and promising players, and one of them is their second-year tight end Drew Sample. The Washington standout didn’t see much action in his rookie year and finished the season with five catches for 30 yards. Last Thursday, however, starting tight end C.J. Uzomah went down with a torn Achilles. In Uzomah’s absence, Sample answered the call and hauled in seven passes for 45 yards. He could get his name called again against the Eagles early and often.

Perhaps the only perk of having a losing record in the NFL is those teams get first dibs on the best players coming out of college. Last season, the Bengals finished with a 2-14 record, which gave them the right to pick at the very top of each round in this year’s draft.

With the first pick of the second round and 33rd overall, this Cincinnati team picked wide receiver Tee Higgins. The Clemson standout played in only 15 snaps in the team’s Week 1 loss versus the Los Angeles Chargers. In Week 2, that number increased to 60 as he hauled in three catches for 35 yards versus Cleveland. Expect for him to continue to be a part of the Bengals offense moving forward.