With a chance to get back to .500 on the season, the Bengals were looking to make the most of their opportunity, fresh off a two game winning streak. The team had a great start, with the impact players doing what they were supposed to. However, the team fell flat as the game progressed, and they suffered a 20 point loss to the Eagles.
The Good:
TE, Mike Gesicki
Gesicki was one of the bright spots for the Bengals offensively. His role was elevated with Tee Higgins out, and the veteran TE responded with arguably his best performance of the season. He turned 7 receptions into 73 yards. One of those receptions was an impressive one hander. Gesicki should be more involved in the offence, regardless of if Higgins is out there or not. Especially in the redzone.
CB, Mike Hilton
The defence did not play well, but Hilton individually was good. He was targeted just once, for what amounted to a catch for -2 yards. Hilton also made a couple of stops against the run.
WR, Jermaine Burton
It wasn’t a perfect outing for Burton, who played less than half of the offensive snaps. But for him, 24 was a big step up. Rumblings still linger around about his trustability and knowledge of the playbook. But his talent is undeniable, as seen on his 41 yard reception. The Bengals haven’t gotten a lot from their depth receivers after Chase and Higgins, and at 3-5, it is clear that the Bengals need to start getting Burton involved more.
The Bad:
Zac Taylor
It is getting hard to look past Taylor’s shortcomings offensively, as most of his mistakes are the same ones that have been happening since his tenure in Cincinnati began. He got outcoached all game, but the glaring issue was the play call on a critical 4th & short. Ja’Marr Chase was targeted behind the line of scrimmage, and got tackled for a loss. This gave the Eagles great field position, allowing them to go up two scores and not look back.
The Run Game
The Bengals were completely unable to run the ball on Sunday. Brown averaged 2.7 yards on 12 carries, while Moss averaged 2.2 on just 5 carries. The blocking did them no favours and the scheme doesn’t seem to be helping either.
K, Evan McPherson
Another week, another miss for the guy once known as Money Mac. McPherson missed from 54 yards out. While his misses haven’t exactly been chip shots, he is expected to be more consistent than he has been so far this season.
S, Jordan Battle
Battle only played a few snaps, but he stood out in a bad way on Sunday. He was burned deep by DeVonta Smith, who got by him to catch a 45 yard TD.
CB, Cam Taylor-Britt
Taylor-Britt was targeted often. 7 times, to be exact, for what amounted to 5 catches and 64 yards. The Bengals CB1 needs to step up his game.
G’s, Alex Cappa & Cordell Volson
Cappa and Volson were both weak links on Sunday. They struggled in the run game, while also allowing the Eagles to pressure Burrow from the middle. Both gave up several pressures/hurries, and Volson was charged with a sack.
WR, Andrei Iosivas
Iosivas has been the WR3, and the WR2 when Higgins has been out. However, aside from a few TD’s and the odd splash play, he has been invisible. The Bengals need a bigger threat out of their third receiver, and if he isn’t able to take his game to another level, he may see Jermaine Burton eat into his snaps.
