The Bengals pulled off a huge comeback win at home against the Chiefs. It not only clinched a division title, but showed that they can match up against the best teams in the league. While things were looking rough in the first half, at least on the defensive side of the ball, the second half effort was nothing short of spectacular.
The Good:
– WR, Ja’Marr Chase
Chase, among all of his impressive performances this season, had arguably his best one yet. He set a Bengals record with 266 receiving yards. That came on 11 receptions and 3 of them were TD’s.
Looking beyond the stats, it is how he generated them that is even more impressive. On his first TD, he caught the ball roughly 15-20 yards down the field, made a few people miss, and then seemingly outran the entire Chiefs defence to the end zone. It was a 72 yard TD. His second TD was an 18 yarder where he elevated overtop of the defender, snatching it away. Not only did he show off his ability to win in the air, but he also did well to tap the toes in bounds. The third TD was somewhat of a busted coverage. Burrow found him down the sideline and he ran it in for a 69 yard score. As well, Chase made the catch on a crucial 3rd & 27 conversion late in the game.
With this performance, Chase might have locked up the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
– QB, Joe Burrow
Burrow turned in a record setting performance last week against the Ravens, and he followed it up with another excellent one. And it wasn’t against a “practice squad defence” either.
The Bengals QB went 30/39 for 446 yards and 4 TD’s. His accuracy was on point all game, hitting guys in stride and, in contested situations, putting it only where the receiver can make the catch. Additionally, Burrow was facing his fair share of pressure from the Chiefs DL. He handled it extremely well.
– CB, Chidobe Awuzie
Awuzie had an outstanding day in coverage. Even more impressive is the fact that he was often tasked with covering the elite Tyreek Hill. The Bengals secondary had a tough first half, but what Awuzie gave up was very limited. As well, he made several nice tackles and totaled 10 on the day.
– DT, Larry Ogunjobi
Ogunjobi provided solid pressure from the middle, but was especially impressive against the run. He was disruptive in the trenches, getting off blocks and making key tackles.
– CB, Tre Flowers
I’ll be the first to admit that I fully expected Travis Kelce to go for well over 100 yards. In the end, he only went for 25 and a TD. Flowers did get beat on the TD, but considering the player that Kelce is, I am more than willing to give a pass when 25 yards and a TD is the final line. Now, Flowers wasn’t the only one in charge of covering Kelce, but he has been tasked often with covering opposing TE’s. He has ended up in the bad category a few times, so he deserves to be on the other side after this performance.
– S, Vonn Bell
It wasn’t necessarily Bell’s best performance, but he made a key play at the end of the first half. Mahomes nearly connected with Tyreek Hill on a deep ball that could have led to a TD or a field goal. However, Bell punched the ball out at the last second, causing an incompletion. Perhaps that was the turning point in the game.
– LS, Clark Harris
The veteran long snapper played in his 200th game on Sunday. The Bengals won on a chip shot field goal as time expired. While a 20 yard field goal is obviously much easier than a 50 yard field goal for the kicker, the role of the snapper doesn’t change. Even with the short distance of the kick, Harris had to do his job in a pressure filled situation. Many take it for granted, especially with how good Harris has been over the last decade +. However, if a bad snap prevents a successful field goal, it is talked about by everyone. Well, this time we’ll talk about a good snap.
The Bad:
– Entire Defence in the 1st Half
It is hard to single anybody out when the defensive performance was as bad as it was in the 1st half. They started out well with a three and out, but the floodgates opened after that, as the Bengals allowed a TD on four straight drives. Eli Apple was beat by Robinson for a 29 yard TD. There also seemed to be some confusion during and after the play, something that would show up a few times in the 1st quarter. Further, the KC OL was opening up big holes in the running game. Markus Bailey didn’t play great and the DL was out muscled more often than not.
Big credit to them for the adjustments made in the 2nd half.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: Maryland GovPics (CC)
