Like an object in your rearview mirror, the NFL trade deadline is closer than it appears. Tuesday will mark two weeks before the Nov. 10 deadline, and there will be a tsunami of rumors and reports about the comings and goings of players between now and then. Key among them will be All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, arguably the biggest prize of this cycle.
The Indianapolis Colts are a clear seller as the deadline approaches. Before Week 7, the club fired general manager Chris Ballard. Then, a loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday has since dropped the franchise to 2-5 on the year and has them on a three-game losing skid.
They have two more games before the deadline, traveling to Jacksonville next week to face the Jaguars, who are 4-2 and will be coming off their bye week. In Week 9, they'll host the Dallas Cowboys. On the lookahead lines, Indy is a 7.5-point underdog to Jacksonville and a 1.5-point underdog at home to Dallas, so the oddsmakers have them favored to go 0-2 over that stretch.
That'd bring them to 2-7 on the season as they reach the deadline, which would only further embolden them to sell off major pieces as they look to refill the cupboard to better jumpstart their rebuild. So, who should target Taylor and pull the trigger on a blockbuster to bring him to town? The Cincinnati Bengals should be pushing their chips into the middle of the table to try and land Taylor.
The back is the missing piece that could help take Joe Burrow back to the Super Bowl and, this time, win it. On Sunday, Cincinnati pulled off a comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens thanks to a second-half explosion from the offense. Burrow threw for four touchdowns over the final two quarters as part of a 35-0 run to move them to 4-2 on the season and put them firmly in the mix in the AFC North race.
Burrow's touchdown barrage and 249 passing yards in the second half were awe-inspiring. What was missing from Cincinnati's victory was a running game, and that's been a common theme for the team throughout the first half of the regular season. As a team, the Bengals are averaging 82.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks in the bottom third in the NFL.
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