Now THAT’S more like it, Cincinnati Bengals!
The Striped Ones looked like the team of old (and by old, we mean the 1988 squad that made the Super Bowl) in a 32-14 pasting of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Cincinnati was pitching a shutout until late in the 3rd quarter, and even after Eagles’ tight end Zach Ertz caught a 13-yard pass from quarterback Carson Wentz to make it 29-7, the game was never in doubt.
What Was Good About the Cincinnati Bengals’ Win?
So many things went right. Andy Dalton threw for 332 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brandon LaFell had a nice game with 95 receiving yards and a TD. The offensive line did not give up a sack. Linebacker Vontaze Burfict and safety Shawn Williams combined for 3 interceptions. The defense held Philly to 53 yards rushing.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Another positive thing we saw was Dalton’s pass distribution. With All-Pro AJ Green on the sidelines with a bad hammy, Dalton completed passes to 9 different players. It’s nice to see that the team was effective without arguably its best player.
Even the things that could have been bad weren’t too bad. The Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive line had constant pressure on Wentz even though they only got 1 sack. Wentz threw for 308 yards – and it took him 60 attempts. Cincy lost 2 fumbles, but never relinquished their double-digit lead once they got it. Kicker Mike Nugent made 4 field goals to go along with another missed extra point.
We’re not sure what sparked the effort from the Cincinnati Bengals. Maybe it was the orange unis with the black pants – a color combo the team hasn’t worn in more than 10 years. Maybe it was us not posting a preview article this week. Who knows?
Yeah, yeah, we know that it’s probably too late to hope for a playoff berth. But we’ll take any positives we can get. And there were lots of positives today.
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