The Bengals were able to get a big home win in week 15 against the Vikings to keep things tight in the AFC playoff race. However, things were not pretty for much of this game. Between unfortunate injuries, a slow start on offence, some mistakes on defence, and poor officiating, they dealt with plenty of adversity. But as the game progressed, they got better, and were able to overcome it.
The Good:
WR, Tee Higgins
Higgins had a bad drop early, but redeemed himself as the game went on. He made some big catches – big in terms of both the difficulty and importance of the particular play. Some were chain movers, others were impressive TD catches. His best play was a 21 yard TD catch, in which Browning lofted it up to the 1 yard line, and Higgins had to come back to the ball and elevate over two defenders to get it. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he then managed to stretch his arm out behind him to get the ball into the endzone. On the day, he totaled 4 catches for 61 yards and 2 TD’s.
QB, Jake Browning
The 1st half was slow for Browning, but he found a rhythm in the 2nd. Though he did make some mistakes, including a pick early in the 3rd quarter, his playmaking ability off script was a big part of the Bengals ability to claw their way back into the game. As well, multiple 3rd and long conversions were made, with Browning delivering an accurate pass down the field. In OT, he had to escape pressure and roll to his right. From there, he found Tyler Boyd for a big 1st down. That long play set up the winning field goal. Browning was 29/42 passing, for 324 yards, 2 TD’s, and 1 INT.
RB, Joe Mixon
It wasn’t the most eventful day for Mixon. In addition to his 3 catches for 14 yards, he carried the ball 10 times for 47 yards. His 4.7 yards per carry was good, but what gets him in this category for week 15 is the TD. It was on 4th & goal from the 1, and he had to break a tackle to get into the endzone. A stop there for the Vikings could have drastically changed the outcome.
WR, Tyler Boyd
For Boyd, it was also relatively uneventful. He only made 2 catches, but he made the most of them, going for 53 yards. His long one came in OT, where he broke off his route and made himself available for a scrambling Browning. This play set up McPherson’s game winning field goal.
DE, Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson was a menace on defence. His ability to create consistent pressure led to interceptions and broken plays. As well, he was able to get himself 1.5 sacks. His pressure almost led to a pick 6 as well, but an offsides call negated it. However, on the replay, it looked like he might have timed it up perfectly. Though, I won’t say 100% that he did.
DE, Myles Murphy
The rookie continues to come along in his development. He has improved week by week, and he has been able to put up more pressure as a pass rusher. In week 15, Murphy was able to get to Mullens for a sack, and he also made a couple of tackles.
DT, BJ Hill
BJ Hill earns his place on here after getting an interception for the second straight week. Mullens was attempting to dump the ball to avoid being sacked, but it went right into the arms of Hill just before reaching the ground. It wasn’t an easy play to make, but Hill was alert. The Vikings were deep into Cincinnati territory, and this play may have prevented them from putting points on the board.
CB, Mike Hilton
Hilton has been great in coverage over the past several weeks, and he had another good game this week against the Vikings. In addition to allowing little separation, he was able to come up with a critical turnover, intercepting Nick Mullens as the Vikings were driving deep in Cincinnati territory.
The TE’s
No single TE put up huge numbers, but collectively, the unit was solid. Tanner Hudson led the group, making 5 catches for 49 yards. Mitchell Wilcox added 2 catches for 20 yards, while Irv Smith chipped in 2 catches for 18 yards. Many of these catches were chain movers that allowed drives to continue on.
4th & 1 Stop
The 4th & 1 stop in OT was a game saver. BJ Hill and Zach Carter combined to stuff Mullens on the QB sneak, a play after doing the same on 3rd & 1. Had the Vikings converted, they would have had an opportunity to kick a game winning field goal. Instead, with the ball back, Browning was able to lead the winning drive.
The Bad:
Run Defence
The run defence has had issues for much of this season, and it got worse when Reader exited early in Saturday’s contest. Ty Chandler frequently found big running lanes, and was able to explode through them for some chunk gains. He totaled 132 yards and a TD on the ground, while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. To say that is not good enough from the defence would be a huge understatement. It is terrible. Now without Reader, the depth guys like Josh Tupou, Jay Tufele, and Zach Carter will have to step it up.
1st Half Offence
The offence started their first drive well, but a botched trick play on 3rd & 1 forced them to kick a short field goal. From that point, the offence failed to generate any kind of momentum for the rest of the half. Luckily, they turned it around in the 2nd.
CB, DJ Turner
The rookie CB has had a rough few weeks. It wasn’t overly disastrous in this one, but he did give up a few chunk plays and a TD. The athletic traits are all there, and he has shown some nice flashes, but Turner will need to find consistency.
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