The Bengals returned home in week 9 to take on the Carolina Panthers. They were coming off a demoralizing defeat in many ways. A blowout loss to a division rival is never good, but losing your top CB to a torn ACL in the process is even worse. Third week 9 matchup was not only an important one to get back above .500, but also to rebuild some confidence that had been lost.
Receiving the opening kickoff, the Chris Evans of the Bengals returned it out, but a penalty pushed the ball back to the 10 yard line. The poor field position, however, didn’t stop the Bengals from getting off to a good start. They were able to spread the ball around on this drive. Higgins, Mixon, Hurst, Boyd, each got at least one touch, and the Bengals eventually got down to the Panthers 2 yard line. On 1st down, Joe Mixon plunged it in, giving the Bengals an early 7-0 lead.
A three and out for the Bengals was sandwiched between two of them for the Panthers. On their third drive of the game, things were moving again for the Bengals. Tee Higgins made an early 11 yard catch, and Trent Taylor took a couple of jet sweeps for 9 yards each. The drive broke open when Mixon exploded for a 29 yard run, deep into Panther territory. Eventually, Joe Burrow was able to sneak it in from a yard out.
After another three and out by the Panthers, the offence was able to put together a good drive. Mixon continued to run well, going for 13 yards on one of his early runs. Burrow found practice squad call up, Trent Irwin, for a 14 yard completion, shortly before a completion to Higgins put them in the redzone. An offside penalty on the Panthers negated a 3rd down sack, allowing the Bengals to continue the drive. A couple of plays later, Mixon ran it in from 3 yards out for his second TD of the game, making it 21-0 Bengals.
The next Panther drive resulted in a Germaine Pratt interception. With a offence back on, a 14 yard play to Boyd, and then a 20 yard run by Mixon got the ball deep into Panther territory once again. A couple of plays later, Mixon ran it in from 1 yard out for his third TD of the game, making it 28-0 Bengals. Amazingly, he wasn’t done there.
On their next drive, the Bengals were forced to punt, which had only occurred one other time up to that point. Looking to cut into the lead before the half, PJ Walker was attempting a pass down the field. However, the ball ended up being picked off by Jessie Bates, who returned it back to the Carolina 23. On 3rd & 10 from the Panther 12, Joe Burrow rolled out and found Joe Mixon in the endzone. Mixon had done well to adjust his route, allowing a scrambling Burrow to find him. It was 35-0 Bengals at the half.
The Panthers made a QB change to start the 2nd half, allowing Baker Mayfield to get his first game action since picking up an injury a few weeks back. Albeit against a more laid back Bengals defence, Mayfield did make a difference. The Panthers scored a TD on three of their four drives. The first one was to open the 2nd half, and was with the Cincy starters still on the field. It was set up by a 66 yard kickoff return, and capped off by a 8 yard pass from Mayfield to Tremble.
Carolina’s third drive of the half was a long one, going for 86 yards. Playing against backups in soft coverage, he unsurprisingly picked them apart. A short pass to Blackshear went for 27 yards, and DJ Moore caught one for 17 a little bit later. The drive ended with a 21 yard TD to Marshall, who caught it over Cam Taylor-Britt.
Mayfield and the Panthers got good field position on their fourth drive, starting at their own 38 after a McPherson missed field goal. Mayfield was able to find the soft spots, and then located Terrace Marshall for 16 yards to get to the Cincinnati 25. A 20 yard completion to Smith set them up at the 2, before Blackshear was able to rush it in for the TD.
Though the Panthers got a lot of possession in the 2nd half, the Bengals were able to find the endzone one more time. It came on their opening drive of the half, with Burrow still in the game. Mixon and Perine were running well, and Tee Higgins stood out catching passes. Down to the Panther 14, the Bengals were able to find the endzone. It was – who else – Joe Mixon running it in for his astonishing 5th TD of the game. After this, Brandon Allen took over at QB, and most of the backups entered the game.
The final score was 42-21 for the Bengals. They improve to 5-4 on the year, and will now head into their bye week. For the next week, they will hope they can get some out of town help, as they look to close the gap on the Ravens’ division lead.
