It was a very tough start for the Bengals. On both sides of the ball, the Buccaneers seemed to be taking it to them. However, as we have seen often with this team, an inspiring 2nd half changed the game. It was pure domination for the defence, while the offence capitalized on turnovers, leading to a 34-23 win.
The Good:
- CB, Eli Apple
Apple was one of the team’s best players on Sunday. Overall, he was good in coverage, and was able to breakup a couple of passes. His tackling was also very sound.
- LB’s, Germaine Pratt & Logan Wilson
Pratt and Wilson seem to end up on the right side of this article on a weekly basis. Pratt continues to show his all around skillset, moving around the field to make tackles, while excelling in coverage. Wilson, meanwhile, has been accumulating tackles at a crazy rate lately. This week, he totaled 15, leading the team. Like Pratt, his ability to make plays all over the field has stood out.
- CB, Tre Flowers
Tre Flowers continues to get his situational snaps, and has seen more playing time with the injuries in the secondary. His highlight was an impressive interception off Tom Brady, which put the offence in good field position.
- DT, DJ Reader
Reader also seems to make it here often. I don’t know if there is enough that can be said about his work in the run game. The defence is completely different with and without him on the field. He was part of a number of key stops, and helped to create turnovers as well.
- DE, Joseph Ossai
Ossai got more snaps with Hendrickson out, and Hubbard exiting early. He had a positive impact, hitting Brady, which led to the Pratt interception. Ossai was also able to recover one of the fumbles.
- TE, Mitchell Wilcox
Wilcox didn’t explode off the stat sheet, but as a depth player, he gets a shoutout for some positive offensive impact. He made 3 catches in this one, going for 34 yards and the game sealing TD.
- 2nd Half
The performance as a whole in the 2nd half gets a shoutout. The defence was completely different. They came out hungry, forcing turnovers left and right. The pressure was heavy and the coverage was much tighter.
The offence was much more consistent moving the ball, and the blocking was a bit better. The defence helped them up significantly, but they made sure to capitalize on the good field position.
- P, Drue Chrisman
Chrisman bounced back after a poor performance last week. This week, he averaged 45 yards on 4 punts, while downing 2 inside the 20.
The Bad:
- 1st Half
The first half, as a whole, was bad. Protection was bad. Outside of the first and last drive, the offence couldn’t move the ball. The defence was very porous, allowing Brady to consistently pass the ball down the field. Thankfully, they turned it around in the 2nd, but the 1st half performance was definitely a stinker.
- Offensive Line
Protection, as mentioned above, wasn’t great. The Bucs pass rushers were able to get through pretty often, especially in the 1st half. In the 2nd, the pressure got to Burrow on a 4th down play deep in Tampa territory. Burrow tried to run around, but was eventually sacked for a 23 yard loss. Luckily, a penalty on the Buccaneers negated the sack. Otherwise, it would have been a disaster.
- RB, Joe Mixon
It was a slow day for Mixon. Obviously, the blocking played a part, but Mixon also wasn’t creating as much as he should. On 11 carries, he averaged a terrible 1.9 per, and his long was only 5 yards.
- CB, Cam Taylor-Britt
Taylor-Britt was arguably the player of the game last week, but had a performance to forget against the Buccaneers. He was picked on often, especially in the 1st half. The Tampa receivers were able to beat him quickly at the line, and created too much separation. There was a little improvement in the 2nd, but overall, it wasn’t great.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: All-Pro Reels (CC)