We welcome Cincy Jungle for answers to five questions about the Bengals before Sunday’s Week 2 matchup

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs face the Cincinnati Bengals. We welcome Anthony Cosenza of Cincy Jungle — our sister SBNation site covering the Bengals — for Five Questions with the Enemy.

1) The Bengals’ loss in New England was Week 1’s most surprising result. How much panic is there among the fan base? Is seen as a typical slow Cincinnati start or a sign of major problems?

A little bit of both. This has been an unfortunate trend for the Bengals and Zac Taylor. Their head coach is 1-10 in the first two weeks of the season in his career, with Joe Burrow sporting a 1-8 record.

In the previous 10 contests, there were excuses ranging from an odd COVID offseason, Burrow returning from a knee injury, to No. 9 having a summer appendectomy and then injuring his calf last year. Burrow was coming back from the wrist injury this year, as well, but he still had a semblance of a full offseason.

It’s in that last facet, the contract drama with their two wide receivers and the fact that the Patriots game was very winnable that makes this a bit more concerning than previous outings. They seem to get clicking in the middle and later parts of the season, which is want you want, but the slow starts have really hurt them. They had better right the ship quickly with this incredibly tough matchup coming on Sunday.

2) Despite winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, tackle Orlando Brown Jr.’s play over a two-year span remains polarizing in Kansas City. How is he seen thus far among Bengals fans and media?

He’s been fine. There were some bumps along the way last year, but he also had a mid-season groin injury that gave him some issues.

I wouldn’t say he’s been at the Pro Bowl levels that we saw him with the Ravens and Chiefs yet, but he’s stabilized a position that was sorely needed and is well-liked and respected in the locker room. As for his Week 1 performance against the Patriots, the consensus opinion is that he played the best of all lineman and it looked to be one of his best games as a Bengal in his time in Cincinnati.

3) The Bengals were in the news more this offseason because of contract disputes with wide receivers Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase than for splashy additions. How much of a distraction have financial matters been? Is there disappointment that neither have agreed to a new contract?

It’s hard to say how much of a distraction it has been. Taylor has prided himself on how he has constructed this roster, not only because of talent, but because of its character and maturity. I think the players have publicly put the right foot forward, but they have also been asked about those respective situations repeatedly. I’m sure that gets old.

Ja’Marr Chase has seemingly been more business-like and his trademark smile has been seen far less recently (particularly after the loss last week), and Tee Higgins didn’t play last week and looks to be questionable/doubtful this Sunday, too. So, I’d say it’s affecting those two specifically (Higgins can’t help having a hamstring issue, of course), more than affecting the team, as a whole.

Yes, it’s disappointing that things haven’t gotten done for either of them, but it’s also a bit expected, in some ways. It was kind insinuated that Higgins getting the franchise tag and not the long-term deal was an unfortunate byproduct of the Burrow extension and one for Chase. Most assumed that the Bengals would really carve out something for Chase next summer, as they often do with a core player having one year left on a deal, but with so many of his contemporaries getting mega-deals, it’s now front-and-center.

The good news is that reports had the Bengals and Chase close on a deal recently, so hopefully they can get it over the finish line.

4) Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has been one of the best strategic minds at slowing down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense. What can he do to continue the success with the Bengals’ current defensive personnel?

Anarumo has had success, yes, but some of those players who played key roles aren’t here anymore. Larry Ogunjobi (who actually missed the 2021 AFC Championship Game), Jessie Bates, Chidobe Awuzie and Eli Apple are no longer roaming the defense.

Still, they have many other mainstays and newer guys like corner Cam Taylor-Britt have stepped up nicely. Regardless, it will be about if the Bengals can generate pressure from anyone not named Trey Hendrickson and if the secondary can keep up with the overall speed of the skill positions (namely the wideouts) of Kansas City.

5) Do you have a prediction of how this one plays out?

If this was a game later in the season, I’d be inclined to go with the Bengals. But the slow starts they have in the first couple of weeks, combined with a juggernaut of an opponent playing on their home field and coming off of a mini-bye. I just don’t see a Bengals win here, but I do see a hard-fought, close game.