Ok, Cincinnati Bengals fans – all together. Aaaaaaand …. AHHHHHH!
That’s the mood of the Cincy faithful after witnessing their team defeat the rival Cleveland Browns 31-17 Sunday. A win would have been fine, but the Cincinnati Bengals did themselves one better. They provided a host of fantastic plays that kept the film boys at SportsCenter busy as they spliced together a highlight reel.
Impressive Parts of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Win
The play of the day was A.J. Green’s incredible 48-yard Hail Mary reception to end the first half. Surrounded by 4 Cleveland defenders, he juggled the ball with one hand before clutching it into his chest. The catch was 1 of 8 that Green made on the day (for 169 yards). Green’s catch followed a 44-yard Brandon LaFell TD, and the Cincinnati Bengals jogged into the locker room ahead 21-10.
The Bengals’ running game finally blew up, in a good way. The team finished with 271 yards on only 30 attempts. Running back Jeremy Hill had 168 of them, including a 74-yard touchdown run with just under 10 minutes to go in the game. Giovani Bernard added 80 yards and a score. If that wasn’t bad enough news for the Cleveland Browns, those numbers don’t include the services of Andy Dalton (you’ve heard of him, right?). He threw for 308 yards and 2 scores as the Bengals piled up 559 yards of offense. It was the highest total for the team in 26 years.
The score could have been more lopsided, but Cincinnati Bengals’ kicker Mike Nugent missed 2 field goals. Other than that, and allowing 3 sacks, the Bengals have gotta be pleased.
Cleveland, on the other hand, had an ungood day. Quarterback Cody Kessler took a hard shot in the second quarter and left the game with a concussion. Backup Kevin Hogan only completed 50% of his passes for 100 yards. He had a 28-yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter that put the score at 21-17, but the Browns wouldn’t get any closer. On the bright side, they did rush for 180 yards. That doesn’t mean much given the final score, but it never hurts to look for a silver lining after a loss.
Cincy knows that as well as anyone.
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