After taking three straight beatings, the Bengals knew that a change had to be made, and they went out and traded for Joe Flacco. He made his debut for the team on Sunday, and the offence showed signs of improvement. The defence did as well. However, a slow start offensively, combined with a defensive collapse in the 2nd half, led to the Bengals dropping their fourth straight game.
The Good:
CB, DJ Turner
It was a career day for Turner. He was targeted often by Jordan Love, but only allowed a few completions for minimal yards. Turner was able to break up 4 passes, one of which deflected right into the hands of Geno Stone, who got the pick. With Cam Taylor-Britt struggling, Turner has been turning it on at the right time.
WR, Ja’Marr Chase
Another game, another big day for Chase. Things were slow in the 1st half, but really heated up in the 2nd. He was a constant target of Flacco, and his spectacular TD catch made a game of it late. On the day, Chase had 10 receptions for 94 yards and a TD.
QB, Joe Flacco
Speaking of Flacco, it was a very solid performance for someone who just got traded to the team less than a week before the game. The leash was short in the 1st half, and the offence struggled to get much going. But in the 2nd half, Flacco was able to dish it out, and the improvement in the quick game was evident. He did well to get the ball to Chase and Higgins, and led some long, methodical drives. Flacco went 29/45 for 219 yards and 2 TD’s on the day.
S, Geno Stone
Stone was good enough in coverage that I’ll excuse the missed tackle. He has looked more lively this season, compared to last, and his interception off of Turner’s pass breakup was a nice reward. Stone also got home for a sack to set up 3rd down.
G, Dalton Risner
Risner made the start at RG with Dylan Fairchild out, and he had his best game of the year, and possibly the best game of a Bengals offensive lineman this season. He was outstanding in pass protection, and was even passable as a run blocker. The veteran might have earned back a spot in the starting lineup with this performance.
The Bad:
S, Jordan Battle
Unlike Stone, Battle had a rough day. He got beat down the field a handful of times. The most crippling one was a 30+ yard completion on 3rd & 8. A stop would have gotten the ball back to the offence for a potential game winning drive. Not helping his cause, Battle missed 2 tackles in week 6.
HC, Zac Taylor
I won’t pull punches here. Taylor’s play calling in the 1st half was an absolute joke. He didn’t give Flacco any kind of chance to get anything going, keeping an excruciatingly short leash on the veteran QB. The result was multiple 3 and outs and no 1st half points. The offence was better when the restrictions were removed in the 2nd half, but the hole proved to be too big.
WR, Andrei Iosivas
Iosivas had a quiet start to the year, but had a good game last week against the Lions. In week 6, however, it was the opposite. On 4 targets, he made 1 catch for 5 yards, but also committed 3 bad drops.
G, Jalen Rivers
It was another rough outing for the rookie, who allowed by far the most pressure of any of the Bengals offensive linemen. His run blocking was better than his pass blocking, but it was still an area where he struggled. They might have to look at making a change.
LB, Demetrius Knight
The rookie was no match for the amount of speed that the Packers possess on offense. Ball carriers were able to make him miss in the open field without even being touched. He also let some tackles slip away.
LB, Barrett Carter
Kight’s fellow rookie got an extended amount of playing time with Logan Wilson getting benched. Although he showed some nice flashes, he also had his fair share of struggles. Carter got picked apart in the passing game, and also had a couple of missed tackles that allowed for some extra yards.
CB, Cam Taylor-Britt
Taylor-Britt’s struggles continued into week 6. In fairness, I would actually say he was a bit more consistent than he has been in recent weeks. However, when he was beaten, it was deep down the field. One of those instances was a 3rd down conversion that could have gotten the defence off the field.
