What needs to happen for Bengals to beat Tennessee, improve to 5-2

If you're doing a side by side comparison of the Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans, it'd be easy to assume the Nov. 1 meeting at Paycor Stadium would be a one-sided contest just based on their records.Cincinnati looks like an ascending, 4-2 team while the Titans are 1-6, and made a trade Oct. 29 that looks intended to jumpstart a rebuild effort.Jason Williams Ring of Honor Trumpy How Bengals compare to Chiefs, Steelers in honoring legends | WilliamsThe fact is that the Titans have been as much of a handful as a 1-6 team can be. Four of their six losses were one-possession games (Eagles, Giants, Ravens, Browns) with an average margin of defeat in those contests of 4.5 points. Their lone win came against the 2-4 Indianapolis Colts.If could be exactly the kind of game where the Bengals get stuck in a nail-biter, especially considering Cincinnati is still yet to play a complete game in which the team impressed in every phase. As the calendar flips from October to November, and the Bengals enter the meat of their 2026 schedule, here's what needs to happen in order for Cincinnati to improve to 5-2 ahead of a key stretch of games: Show Cincinnati, Bengals fans, observers your true identityThis is less an objective to accomplish in-game and more a plea from fans and media types seeking to pinpoint what kind of Bengals team we're looking at in 2026. Because entering Week 8, it seems fair to say many people have difficulty trying to pinpoint what we're looking at. Even the signature win - the Week 7 victory that was an embarrassment-turned-mauling against the Ravens - was, as Bengals head coach Zac Taylor conceded, a good half of football as opposed to a complete game, which it certainly wasn't.The Bengals have been carried by their defense at times (Weeks 1-3 versus Tampa Bay, Houston and Jacksonville), and eventually carried by the offense against the Ravens. The closest we've seen the team to playing complete, balanced football might have been the loss to Pittsburgh (putting aside that day's special teams major malfunctions). Bottom line, it's now Week 8. The Bengals are on the precipice of a stretch of games (at Madrid versus Atlanta followed by back-to-back primetime games on U.S. soil against Pittsburgh and Washington) that will more than likely dictate if its a legitimate contender for the AFC North title, or if it's destined for the mad scramble for a Wild Card berth. It's time for this team to grow into what it is supposed to be. That doesn't mean it has to reach its peak form. In fact, you'd prefer that happens closer to playoff time, but a baseline of higher-level performance from each unit should be expected. Put a full game together against the Titans. Handle your business convincingly, and show us who you are. There's no excuse for Joe Burrow to face sustained pressured from Titans.Up until midday on Oct. 29, you could have credibly said the Titans had a formidable defensive front, but the Bengals appear to have caught Tennessee right as the organization decided to go all-in on rebuild-mode. The Titans on Oct. 29 completed a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bears, sending defensive end Jeffery Simmons to the Windy City in exchange for a package of draft picks. Simmons had four sacks on the year for Tennessee. Suffice it to say Simmons is one of the best pass-rushers of this era.Subtracting Simmons from the Nov. 1 Bengals-Titans equation also comes on top of the fact that Tennessee's pass rush was missing in action last week against the Browns. Now is Bengals' chance to get the run game goingDo you think Tennessee players, already mired in their 1-6 season, will be amped after Simmons was traded away? I suspect not. And that absence could have a multiplying effect. In addition to taking Simmons away from the Titans' pass rush, the team's run defense is also losing a contributor via the trade. And that's a run defense that's coming off a lapse in the Oct. 25 shootout, 27-25 loss to the Browns. Cleveland entered the game averaging the ninth-fewest rushing yards per game (94), but left Nashville having run for 183 rushing yards. Maybe this game sets up for Cincinnati to lean into the run game, and therefore make it something opponents are forced to legitimately respect in the weeks to come. Samaje Perine has done some heavy lifting for the Bengals run game the last two games (84 yards, one touchdown, 18 carries combined versus Miami and Baltimore), but Chase Brown (78 yards, one lost fumble on 24 carries, in the same span) has also quietly helped Cincinnati's offense stay on-schedule. That was especially true against Baltimore. Bonus key: Can the tight end depth make an impact vs. Titans?One of the unfortunate developments resulting from Cincinnati's win against Baltimore was that tight end Erick All Jr. was lost for the season (torn ACL). That made for two tight ends lost for the season to injury in back-to-back games when Tanner Hudson was likely lost for the season due to a pectoral injury. The Bengals brought Cam Grandy back into the fold this past week, and there's been increased discussion around the development of rookie tight end Jack Endries. Mike Gesicki is the clear leader of the tight end room with 165 receiving yards on the year and five touchdowns. His touchdown receptions are among the league leaders at the position. The tight end depth that was so vaunted coming out of training camp is now undergoing significant turnover. And make no mistake, All and Hudson were growing into increasingly important roles in recent weeks. It'll be a necessity to get the depth tight ends like Grandy and even Endries going eventually. It would be a tremendous boon if that could happen to some degree against Tennessee, and then their roles could continue growing from there. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What needs to happen for Bengals to beat Tennessee, improve to 5-2