The Bengals opened their season on the road in Cleveland, looking to start the year right. With high expectations for the offence, and question marks surrounding the defence, it only makes sense that the defence held firm in a low scoring game. There were some standout performances on both sides, as well as some concerns. Let’s take a look at some of them.
The Good:
S, Jordan Battle
Battle had the odd blip in coverage, but overall, had a very solid game. He made some impressive tackles that limited the gain of Cleveland’s offence, and he reacted quickly to take advantage of a tipped pass, coming up with the pick. His interception landed the offence in field goal range, and the resulting field goal ended up being the winning score.
CB, DJ Turner
Turner also had a solid day in coverage and, like Battle, contributed a timely interception. His interception was another that came off of the receiver’s hands, and he was able to extend out and make the play. This one iced the game when the Browns were trying to go down the field and win it.
CB, Daxton Hill
Hill saw his first regular season action since tearing his ACL last year. He got a lot of work in the slot, and there wasn’t any noticeable drop off in his play, even though ACL injuries can be tough to come back from. It was an encouraging start to his year.
DE, Shemar Stewart
Stewart didn’t record a sack, but he was disruptive on several occasions. He forced Flacco to get rid of the ball quickly, and forced a couple of poor throws. A solid game for the rookie 1st round pick.
RB, Chase Brown
The stat sheet was skewed negatively by -10 rushing yards on the final drive when they were trying to run out the clock. But Brown passed the eye test, in my opinion, showing off his burst and quickness earlier on in the game. He also scored the first of the team’s 2 TD’s on the day.
LB, Logan Wilson
Wilson looked a lot better than he did in the preseason. Much closer to the version of old. He made some key plays as a run defender, and also was noticeable a couple of times when being sent in on a blitz.
G, Dalton Risner
He fared much better as a pass blocker than he did as a run blocker, but we knew what we were getting in him already. Risner has only been a Bengal for a short while, and had to come off the bench early in his first game with the team. On a pass heavy team, he did what he needed to, and that was to protect Joe Burrow. With Patrick out at least 4 games, Risner will be the starter for at least that duration, but I’d expect him to hold on to the job.
TE, Noah Fant
Another Bengals player making his debut with the team. Fant only tallied 26 receiving yards, but it was on a day where Burrow only threw for 113 yards. But of his 4 catches, 1 went for a TD. Beyond anything the statsheet would show, I thought he looked the part. He was quick off those play action passes, and you can see the run-after-catch potential.
DT, Mike Pennel
Continuing with the theme of Bengal debuts, Pennel made his as an elevation off the practice squad (he has since been promoted). He was brought in to help against the run, and he did that. His anchor was great, and he played with good leverage, which allowed him to prevent his opponents from creating push, and also helped him get off blocks.
The Bad:
CB, Cam Taylor-Britt
It is fair to wonder if the early career version of Taylor-Britt is gone. The one we saw on Sunday for the Bengals was reminiscent of the one we also saw last season. He was getting burned often, and gave up the most yards of any Bengals defender.
HC, Zac Taylor
Taylor played the starters in the preseason to avoid a slow start, but really, I always felt like it was more on him than the players. Week 1 left me feeling the same way. There wasn’t much efficiency in the passing game, and guys like Chase and Higgins didn’t get many downfield opportunities. As well, he largely abandoned the run game in the 2nd half, up until the late “run out the clock” stages where the runs were telegraphed. I liked some of the under centre play action passes he ran in the 1st half, but the play calling was off in the 2nd.
WR’s, Ja’marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas
It isn’t entirely on them, as Taylor didn’t dial up the most downfield opportunities for them, and the Browns secondary was effective in limiting separation. But when your top 3 receivers combine for 59 yards (0 for Iosivas), it still needs to be mentioned.
Run Blocking
Chase Brown passed the eye test, but the offensive line didn’t do him many favours. Orlando Brown was solid in this phase, but the rest left some to be desired. It was especially bad late when the Bengals were trying to run out the clock. It was negative run after negative run. Sure, the plays were predictable, but the result has to be better than that.
G, Dylan Fairchild
For Fairchild, it was a rough day in both phases. His run blocking wasn’t good and he gave up several pressures. Orlando Brown also gave up a couple of sacks and could have ended up here, but I decided to cut him some slack since he was going up against Myles Garrett, and he was also the team’s best run blocker. As for Fairchild, the rookie was in his first game, and faced a good defensive line. He had a good preseason, so it isn’t panic time right now. Let’s see how he does in week 2.
