It’s almost Thanksgiving and Mattt and Willie have a cornucopia of thoughts on the state of the Bengals. Join us and follow on Bleav for all the latest Bengals news and takes. 

Matt and Willie are thankful for a defense that is finally showing life. In this episode of Matt and Willie Know Ball, the ball-knowers tackle the defense. 

Are the linebacker deep-fried turkey or a delicious turducken of talent with all the fixins? Just like when the parade is ending and pregame has begun, things seem to be trending in the right direction.

Barrett Carter shook off his missed-tackle woes and had 16 total tackles this week. Carter has been calling the defensive shots and taking every single defensive snap since usurping Logan Wilson. Not unlike cranberry sauce in the shape of a can, he may be criminally underrated for what he has done as a rookie and the career trajectory he is currently projecting.

Like a forgotten side dish, it’s better late than never for Myles Murphy. Over the last two weeks he has really flashed. With both Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart out, Murphy has seen a lot more action. He has taken advantage of this, looking good against both the run and the pass and producing a sack. I’ll take seconds of that.

McKinnley Jackson has finally been promoted from the kiddie table and is making me wonder why he spent so much time on the inactive list. You can pass the masked potatoes, but you aren’t getting anything past Jackson in the run game. He anchors down like Uncle Ricky on the lazy boy and he isn’t going anywhere.

Deep in the back of the refrigerator, the Bengals found some leftovers that still have some flavor. No, not the scalloped potatoes, Jalen Davis. Moving Davis up from the practice squad and rounded out the Bengals secondary menu very nicely. He played a large role and for the defense last week and showed no signs of spoilage.

Tryptophan aside, people are sleeping on this Bengals run game. Chase Brown and more importantly this offensive line have really caught their stride. New offensive line coach Scott Peters is looking like a great hire. 

Now can they keep it up as Joe Burrow looks to make his return on Thursday night?

Burrow will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to get the Bengals season back on track. Black Friday may be coming up, but the Bengals win/loss record is so deep into the red, that it will take them until New Years to get them out. 

Oh well, the Rose Bowl is a better parade anyway.

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