The Bengals took on the winless New York Jets, having the chance to really make things tight in the race for the AFC North. Multiple times throughout the game, they had multi-score leads. The offence was rolling early and often. However, as we have become accustomed to this year and last, the defence collapsed and the Bengals came away with a loss.
The Good:
RB, Samaje Perine
The team’s RB2 got some extra carries against the Jets, and really made the most of them. Perine’s downhill running style allowed him to eat up the space that was opened in front of him, and he was able to rip off some big gains. His 32 yard TD run was the highlight, and his 94 yards on just 9 carries was even more impressive. This was good for 10.4 yards per carry. Perine also added a catch for 6 yards.
RB, Chase Brown
Brown, the Bengals lead back, also had an impressive day. On 12 carries, he racked up 73 yards and a TD, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. His quickness was on display, as he was able to make people miss in the open field. Brown also contributed in the passing game, making 3 catches for 32 yards and another TD.
Run Blocking
With the team’s top two backs making the “good” category, it comes as no surprise that the run blocking had something to do with it. It is, however, somewhat of a surprise that the offensive line was able to string together two straight stellar performances in the run game. Over these last couple of games, the unit has helped revitalize a non-existent rushing attack.
QB, Joe Flacco
In his 3rd start as a Bengal, Flacco had another big game. He was poised in the pocket, again proving that he can get the ball to his weapons. The veteran QB completed 21 of 34 passes for 223 yards and 2 TD’s, including a 44 yard deep shot to Tee Higgins. He also added 14 yards on 2 carries, including a 1 yard TD off a QB sneak.
WR, Ja’Marr Chase
Yet again, Chase was Flacco’s main target, and it wasn’t close. He hauled in 12 of his 21 total completions, which was good for 91 yards. The efficiency wasn’t necessarily there this time for Chase, but his receptions came in big moments nonetheless.
The Bad:
DE’s, Shemar Stewart, Myles Murphy, & Joseph Ossai
The trio failed to put up any pressure for another week. Although Trey Hendrickson returned, he aggravated his injury close to halftime, and the team again needed someone else to step up. But with Hendrickson out for the 2nd half, the Jets offence proceeded to embarrass the Bengals defence.
DT, Kris Jenkins
Jenkins also failed to generate pressure in his role from the inside. While he wasn’t a refined rusher coming out of college, his athletic profile offered enough upside that you would have hoped for better by this point. But with Hendrickson being the only person along the entire defensive line capable of generating consistent pressure, the defensive struggles aren’t a big surprise. Compounding his bad play was a missed tackle.
CB, Daxton Hill
Hill has been solid this season, more often than not. However, he had a poor outing on Sunday. Hill gave up a decent chunk of yards in coverage, but the worst was when he got burned for a TD when the Jets were facing 4th & 2. He also had a missed tackle.
S, Geno Stone
Speaking of missed tackles, Stone had 2 of them. But beyond the stats, he just doesn’t look good in the process. Oftentimes, Stone looks timid when going to engage the ball carrier, and he makes it easier for them to either slip out or bounce off.
LB, Demetrius Knight
Knight continues the common theme, as he had a missed tackle of his own. But the times he got juked out at the line by the ball carrier don’t show up on the stat sheet, but might as well count as missed tackles. Knight also got washed away by blocks far too often. In fairness, he was lined up on the edge for some of these, making for a tough matchup, but the other instances were frustrating.
WR, Andrei Iosivas
Iosivas came up with no catches on his 3 targets, but committed a drop. The drop was on a 4th down that the Bengals needed to convert to keep the game going. His lack of separation from the slot is concerning, and it seems like his deployment in this position is the team trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.
G, Jalen Rivers
It was a great day for the offensive line as a whole, but Rivers was still the weak link. He actually was better than usual in pass protection, for the most part, but he got beat on a 3rd down play on the team’s final drive of the game. Flacco was forced to throw the ball away, but had a target that seemed to be opening up, had he been given more time.
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