Preview, prediction and what to watch in week 8

A look inside The Jets-Bengals NFL Week 8 game is Sunday In Cincinnati:

Marquee match

Bengals WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins vs. Jets CBs Brandon Stephens and Azareye’h Thomas

The Jets will be without star cornerback Sauce Gardner, who suffered a concussion last week.

They never want to miss Gardner, but it feels especially important this week against Chase and Huggins — perhaps the best receiving duo in the sport.

Thomas, a third-round pick last spring, will start in Gardner’s place. The Jets likely don’t have anyone following Chase, but just Thomas and Stevens playing on both sides.

“Listen, any time you lose a player of that caliber, it’s always concerning because he’s one of the best players in this league,” Jets coach Aaron Glenn said. “But we have other players that have to step up, and that’s what this league is. You saw (the Chargers on Thursday) a night that had a lot of injuries that went out there and played. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for you, nobody’s going to feel sorry for us, so (Thomas) is going to step up, and he’s going to do a good job for us.”

Chase has been rolling since Joe Flacco took over as the Bengals’ starting quarterback. He has two straight games with double-digit receptions, including a franchise-record 16 for 161 yards and a touchdown last week against the Steelers.

Four downs

cold weather: Although the Jets are going through another quarterback crisis, Former QB Joe Flacco He will lead the Bengals. This is Flacco’s third game with Cincinnati after being traded by the Browns. Flacco, 40, had two stints with the Jets, in 2020 and 2021-22.

Flacco passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the Bengals’ 33-31 win over the Steelers last week while trying to keep the Bengals afloat while waiting for quarterback Joe Burrow to return.

There haven’t been a lot of good memories with the Jets for Flacco, who went 1-8 as a starter with the Jets, but he said this week he cherishes the relationships.

“I remember driving home on the (New Jersey) Turnpike after losing a game, and I was shaking my head and talking to my family, ‘You know, what the hell am I doing?’ Flacco said. “I think most of the time when I look back on those times, it’s just me in the locker room and everyone else I had to play with in that organization.”

Here’s the catch: It may not matter who the Jets QB is with the status of their future corps. Garrett Wilson will miss his second straight game with a knee injury, and Josh Reynolds was ruled out on Saturday as well. Last week, the Jets were led by Tyler Johnson, Reynolds and tight end Mason Taylor, who each caught three passes. The Jets have to find a way to get Breece Hall more involved in the passing game after he had just two catches last week and zero the week before.

On the defensive side: It’s hard to find positives on an 0-7 team, but the Jets have played better defensively the past two games. Coordinator Steve Wilkes’ staff has allowed just 13 points in each of the past two games. They rebounded from their early season struggles when they allowed 30 or more points in three of their first five games.

One area that still needs work is fast food. The Jets have one fumble recovery this season and no interceptions. Maybe Flacco will give them some chances.

Bad line: The Jets are 0-7 for the first time since 2020 and the third time in franchise history. The 2020 team lost its first 13 games before finishing 2-14, so this year’s crew still has a long way to go to catch up with that group in the worst stretch.

The seven-game losing streak is the fifth-longest in franchise history. If they lose their eighth straight game, they will move into a tie for the third-longest losing streak in team history. The 13-game stretch in 2020 is the longest, followed by the 12-game stretch, which occurred over two seasons in 1995-96. The Jets also lost eight in a row in 2014 and 1975.

Costello’s appeal

The Jets could have won the last two games if they had any semblance of an effective offense. Justin Fields gets another chance to turn his season around. I think he will find some success against the weak Bengals defense. I don’t buy Joe Flacco and the Bengals.

Jets 20, Bengals 17