3 Bengals that could give the Seattle Seahawks nightmares in Week 6

Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow looks healthy again

The Bengals are likely to throw the ball a lot against the Seahawks. I don't say this because Cincinnati has Joe Burrow who, when healthy, is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL because the Bengals are also capable of running the ball effectively as well. But in Cincinnati's five games in 2023, when they have thrown the ball 41 times or more they are 2-1 (and lost the one game by 3 points), and when they throw the ball 31 times or fewer they haven't scored more than 3 points.

Burrow suffered a calf strain in training camp and missed the preseason. When he came back in the early games of the season, he clearly wasn't able to move around as well in the pocket. Burrow isn't going to take off often and scamper for 50 yards, but his ability to throw on the run and move the pocket is a huge part of the Bengals' passing offense. He looked a lot healthier last week.

Burrow proved against a hard-playing Arizona Cardinals team in Week 5 that if he is more mobile, and even while missing one of his top-two targets in the injured Tee Higgins, he can destroy a defense. Against the Cardinals, Burrow was 36 of 46 for an efficient 317 yards, 3 touchdowns and he was intercepted once. The Bengals won fairly easily, however, 34-20.

Seattle has talent in its secondary, of course, but they also massively struggle on third down defense. The Seahawks are 31st in the league allowing 52.4 percent of third downs to be converted. If Seattle allows Burrow to move around and find open receivers on passes over the middle and on out-routes and consistently picking up third downs, the Bengals will dominate the time of possession and win the game by 10 points.

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