In a surprising twist of events, the Bengals pulled off an upset victory in Baltimore on Thursday night. After having squandered the “winnable” games, it seemed like the season was doomed with the tough portion still ahead. And it may still be doomed. But the team’s best defensive performance of the season, along with the return of Joe Burrow, led to a victory. For now it seems, there may still be a dim light at the end of the tunnel.
The Good:
DE, Myles Murphy
Murphy’s run of form has been strong lately, and this continued in week 13 against the Ravens. His 5 pressures were second on the team, and he was a noticeable disruptive force throughout the game. It looks like there is a chance that he has truly turned a corner in his development, and these next 5 games will be a big opportunity for him to further prove it.
DE, Joseph Ossai
Ossai, meanwhile, had what might have been a career game. He led the team with a staggering 8 pressures, and was also a disruptive force all game. His 2 sacks contributed to a defence that kept a Ravens offence, which is good on paper, silenced. Additionally, he was able to force a fumble on one of those sacks, leading to a big turnover.
DE, Cedric Johnson
Johnson had a couple instances of pressure, but really made his mark by being opportunistic when the ball hit the ground. Twice, he was able to react quickly when the ball was fumbled, coming up with the recoveries. Overall, Johnson hasn’t been a world beater, but as a complimentary piece, he has been quite solid.
CB’s, DJ Turner & Jalen Davis
Turner was tight in this one, allowing only a single reception for minimal yardage, while also breaking up a pass. It has been a breakout season for a guy who entered camp in a competition for the number 3 spot. Now, he is the clear number 1 for the Bengals.
Davis, meanwhile, took advantage of another elevation off the practice squad. Like Turner, he also allowed just a single reception. As well, he was highly effective when used as a blitzer, and was able to force a fumble. The veteran depth piece has been a reliable fill-in in the past, especially during the team’s big playoff runs. Now, he has been showing more of the same.
DC, Al Golden
Well, it looks like someone finally told Golden that he can blitz. Typically someone who blitzes at an extremely low rate, this number skyrocketed in week 13. As a result, Lamar Jackson faced a lot of pressure, and the all-out blitzes had him flustered. I’m not sure if this was a one week instance based on the matchup, but the more frequent use of blitzes seemed to inject life into the Bengals defence, and more of the same should be seen going forward.
K, Evan McPherson
McPherson makes the list for a second straight week. He was called on often, and had a perfect day. 6/6 on field goals, including a 52 yarder. McPherson also converted both of his extra point attempts. He is now 88.5% on the year, with a long of 63, and all 3 misses being from beyond 50, including one from beyond 60. He is also perfect on extra points.
QB, Joe Burrow
It wasn’t necessarily the most efficient day for Burrow, who completed 24 of 46 passes. But he did go for 261 yards and 2 TD’s. But more so, I am happy that he passed the eye test. His mobility wasn’t perfect, but quite good, considering it was his first game back from the turf toe injury. As well, his play making ability in big moments was on display.
The Offensive Line
The unit’s run blocking was solid, but for this game, the pass blocking is what stood out. From left to right, Orlando Brown, Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Dalton Risner, and Amarius Mims ALL had an outstanding day in pass protection. And with Burrow’s mobility being a question mark entering the game, a performance like this could not have come at a better time for the Bengals.
TE, Tanner Hudson
Hudson only made 1 catch for 14 yards, but it went for a TD. Beyond that, however, it was the way he made the catch that was impressive. The coverage was decently tight, and he only had one arm free to make the catch. Hudson was able to concentrate and make the one handed catch.
S, Jordan Battle
While he wasn’t on fire throughout the whole game, it was a relatively solid all around performance for Battle. The consistency was nice, given his struggles in past weeks. However, he makes the list for one play in particular. His effort to track down Isaiah Likely, who was on his way to the end zone, was admirable. Battle was able to punch the ball out just before he crossed the goal line, and the ball went out of the end zone, resulting in a turnover.
WR, Ja’Marr Chase
For some reason, it kind of felt like a quiet day for Chase, but then you look at the stat sheet and see 7 catches for 110 yards. 43 of them did come on one play, but even that was a very impressive catch over the shoulder. Not much more needs to be said. He’s a great player.
RB, Chase Brown
Brown had another good day, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, en route to 78 yards rushing. He also tied with Ja’Marr Chase for the team lead in receptions, with 7. His 35 yards through the air put him at 113 total for the game.
The Bad:
WR, Mitchell Tinsley
Tinsley saw 9 targets on a day where Tee Higgins was out. However, he only brought in 2 of them for 22 yards. Now, some of them would have been tough catches, but they were still very catchable, and he should have been able to accumulate more than 2 catches. Officially, he was charged with committing 2 drops.
HC, Zac Taylor
Since the Bengals got the upset win, I’m sure many will push Taylor’s issues under the rug. But I won’t. His simplistic, backyard football was on full display, and he again had to rely on splash plays to get the job done. There was one sequence, especially, that I found irritating. It was following a fumble recovery by Cedric Johnson at the Baltimore 2. He called one run, which got stuffed. Fine, that happens. But the three passing plays were as vanilla as it gets. No trickery, motion, or anything that might scheme someone open. Nope. Just drop back and hope someone gets open in a condensed part of the field.
RB, Samaje Perine
Perine had a tough day running the ball. While Brown was pretty efficient, Perine averaged just 2.8 yards per carry, en route to 39 yards on the ground. He also committed a fumble late in the game, while the Bengals were trying to run out some clock.
