The familiar sentiment from Fleet Admiral Gial Ackbar from Star Wars circled through my head in the week leading up to the Oakland Raiders game against the Cincinnati Bengals. “It’s a trap” was all i could think, no matter how hard i tried to shake those thoughts from my mind.
The 5-4 Raiders were hosting the 0-9 Bengals, a team that despite their record, hasn’t played terrible football, they just haven’t played good football, and the Raiders historically have played down, or up to the level of talent of their opponents.
This game wasn’t a trap. Defensive Coordinator Paul Guenther did a great job preparing his team to face a hungry, winless team that was looking for a sense of identity, a taste a victory and a chance to drive the Raiders down in the playoff seeding.