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Bengals Lose Week 1 Nail Biter

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The Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Seattle Seahawks 21-20 Sunday afternoon in Seattle. 

The Bengals had many bright spots in this game. They showed heart and fought and if the Bengals could have scored even a field goal when they were in Seattle territory in the 2nd half, they would already have a 1 in the win column. They were deep in Seattle territory 3 times in the 3rd quarter alone and came away with no points.

The defense had several bright spots. Sam Hubbard played like a mad man finishing with 10 total tackles (6 solo) and 2 sacks. Nick Vigil and Carlos Dunlap were both active as each had 7 tackles (Dunlap also had a sack). The Bengals defense looks completely different now compared to this time last year.

Offensively quarterback Andy Dalton shined. Dalton stepped back to pass 51 times, which was a career high, and completed 35 passes (68.6% completion percentage) with 2 TDs and 0 interceptions. He did have a fluke fumble in Seattle territory as rain began to fall early in the 3rd quarter.

John Ross had a big day and was probably the biggest surprise of the game as he finished with 7 receptions, 158 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had an awful drop late in the 2nd quarter but made up for it when he caught a 55 yard touchdown on the next play with 7 seconds left in the half. He had a few drops on Sunday, but made up for them in big ways. C.J. Uzomah also had a solid game with 4 receptions for 66 yards, and Tyler Boyd also was reliable with 8 receptions going for 60 yards as well.

The running game struggled. Joe Mixon left the game early with an ankle injury and finished with just 6 carries for 10 yards and Giovani Bernard had 7 carries for only 21 yards on the ground. If the Bengals want to beat the 49ers next week, they need to improve on the ground. The Bengals could really use Cordy Glenn who they hope will be out of concussion protocol and able to play next week.

The Bengals host the 49ers next Sunday in their home opener at 1:00pm EST.




Pacing Bengals Stats After 4 Games

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The Bengals have finished the first quarter of the regular season with a 1-3 record after struggling offensively during the first few games against the Ravens and Texans, but after making a change at offensive coordinator from Ken Zampese to Bill Lazor, the offense has played much better the past 2 games against the Packers and Browns.

Below are player stats after 4 games and the pace they are currently on for the season.

Andy Dalton has currently thrown for 892 yards, 6 TD’s and 4 INT’s while completing over 66% of his passes, he has also been sacked 14 times through 4 games. Dalton is currently on pace to finish the season with 3,568 yards, 24 TD’s and 16 INT’s. Let’s hope the Bengals offensive line shows improvement with regards to pass protection as they are on pace to give up 56 sacks this season, that would be 15 more than they allowed in 2016.

The Bengals have 3 running backs with more than 80 yards rushing. Joe Mixon leads the team with 136 yards rushing on 52 carries, Giovani Bernard has 89 yards on 18 carries and Jeremy Hill rounds out the trio with 82 yards on 25 attempts. Mixon is on pace to finish the season with 544 yards rushing on 208 carries but I expect to see improvement on his current average of 2.6 yards per carry. Bernard is on pace to finish with 356 yards on 72 carries and Hill is on pace to finish with 332 yards on 100 attempts. Bernard also has 8 receptions for 134 yards along with 2 receiving TD’s and Mixon has 11 receptions for another 78 yards.

The best offensive player on the team is without a doubt WR A.J. Green. Green currently leads the team 25 receptions for 315 yards receiving and 2 TD’s which would put him on pace to finish the season with 100 receptions, 1,260 yards and 8 TD’s. Bernard and Mixon are the 2nd and 4th leading receivers on the team at the moment but TE Tyler Kroft has displayed a Tyler Eifert-like presence at times and has 10 receptions, 101 yards and 2 TD’s. Brandon Lafell has also had 10 catches for 76 yards.

When it comes to the defense 2nd year LB Nick Vigil is currently leading the Bengals with 34 tackles, he also has 1 sack and 1 INT. The Bengals pass rush has shown improvement this season so far and veteran DT Geno Atkins has 3 of the teams 12 sacks so far. Rookie LB Carl Lawson has 2.5 sacks and has shown the ability to provide consistent pressure on opposing QB’s when on the field. CB Darqueze Dennard also has 2 sacks and backup DE Chris Smith who the Bengals traded for in the offseason from the Jacksonville Jaguars has 1.5 QB sacks.

Preseason Game 2 Recap: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs

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Oooookay, Cincinnati Bengals fans – let’s just pump those brakes a little bit.

Yeah, we know, we’ve been hyping up the 2017 Cincinnati Bengals as much as anyone. Still, you can’t argue with the fact that Saturday night’s 30-12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs showed that this team has some work to do if it’s going to get back to the playoffs for the seventh time in nine years.

How Things Went

The story of the night was the defense … or lack thereof. The Cincy D couldn’t stop the Kansas City QBs. They couldn’t stop the Chiefs from gaining 228 yards on the ground. Heck, they couldn’t stop in the name of love on Saturday. Kansas City signal-callers Patrick Mahomes II, Alex Smith, and Tyler Bray combined to go 20/28 for 182 yards, four touchdowns, and a 130.1 QB rating. Each quarterback threw at least one score. The Chiefs got all of their points in the first three quarters of play.

To add to the misery, Bengals starting safety Shawn Williams went down with a gnarly elbow injury early in the game. Slo-mo replay shows his right arm bending very awkwardly. Sort of like when Steven Seagal would snap an armlock on one of Screwface’s evil henchmen. We certainly pray for his recovery, but don’t expect him back any time soon.

On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton went 7/13 for 98 yards, but he never looked comfortable. AJ McCarron also appeared to be off-target. Even AJ Green dropped a pass, which happens about as often as a Cleveland Browns victory.

One bit of good news is the Bengal kickers once again showed their accuracy. Randy Bullock and Jake Elliott each went two for two and accounted for all of Cincy’s points. If the Bengals are in a close game this season, they’ll be in good hands (er, feet). Also, there were solid individual performances by linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Nick Vigil (who had eight tackles). Youngster defensive ends Jordan Willis and Chris Smith each nabbed a sack. Being able to attack the QB from the edge was an offseason concern for the defense that seems to be easing by the week.

 

Cincinnati Bengals Player of the Game

If you think it was unusual last week for the kickers to be selected as PotG, how about two weeks in a row? Bullock and Elliott accounted for Cincinnati’s entire score again. Bullock booted a 47-yarder and one from 26, and Elliott connected from 32 and 39 yards.

 

What This Means Going Forward

We’re not sure if the Bengals’ defense just had an off-night or if Kansas City exposed some glaring weaknesses. But defensive coordinator Paul Guenther has some serious tape-reviewing to do in the next few days.

Cincinnati will need to find a replacement for Shawn Williams quickly. They have depth in George Iloka, Clayton Fejedelem, Derron Smith and Josh Shaw, but the only thing that hurts more than losing Williams is Shawn’s arm after that play.

The Cincinnati Bengals will take the field next on Sunday, August 27th on the road against the Washington Redskins.

 

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Indianapolis Colts – Preaseason Game 4 Recap

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Last night’s game may not have ended the way Bengals’ fans wanted (a 25-yard game-winning Colts’ TD pass with 40 seconds left), but given that it was just a preseason game whose biggest impact was determining who makes the final 53-man roster, nobody is sweating it.

The starters had the night off, which was a welcome sign to fans who had their fingers crossed that there would be no more injuries to key players. The only tradeoff to that? The first half had about as much action as a Barbara Walters-James Lipton buddy cop movie. The score was tied at 0 at halftime, and even with the exciting final two minutes – which saw a 15-yard touchdown pass from Cincy QB Keith Wenning to wide receiver Alonzo Russell followed by Colts’ signal-caller Stephen Morris’ toss to Tevaun Smith for the clinching TD – it wasn’t a game you needed to set the DVR for.

Here’s the Good and the Bad from Thursday night:

The Good
* Preseason’s over. The next time Cincinnati takes the field, it will be at MetLife Stadium against the Jets on Sunday, September 11 – and it will be for real.
* No big injuries. The worst thing that happened was cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris leaving the game with a stinger.
* Backup DT DeShawn Williams played well, with three tackles (one for a loss) and three QB hits.
* Rookie linebacker Nick Vigil didn’t look like a rookie when he snagged an interception inside the Bengals’ 5-yard line in the second quarter.
* Not to be outdone by those other defenders, LB Trevor Roach made 11 tackles, including five on the Colts’ opening drive.
* Wide receiver Alex Erickson had a good game with three receptions for 44 yards and a couple of punt returns for 18 yards.
* Fellow WR Jake Kumerow also had three catches, for 60 yards. He has a shot to make the practice squad.

The Bad
* The backup offensive line didn’t show up last week. Thursday night was an encore.
* That previous point was evident in Wenning taking a few shots that didn’t need to happen.