The Bengals looked to bounce back after a poor start to their season in Cleveland. Week 2 presented them with another divisional matchup, this one also being their home opener. However, the Bengals once again started slow on offence. Although they did pick things up in the 2nd half, mistakes and poor defensive play still proved to be too costly, even against an undermanned Ravens team.
The Good:
WR, Tee Higgins
After putting up a goose egg in week 1, Tee Higgins flipped the script in a big way in week 2. He led the Bengals in receptions, yards, and TD’s against the Ravens, catching 8 passes for 89 yards and 2 TD’s.
WR/PR, Charlie Jones
Charlie Jones is lower down on the receiver depth chart, but the rookie won the punt returner job out of camp. In just his second game, Jones returned one for a TD, which at the time, tied the game at 7. It was the Bengals first punt return TD since Adam “Pacman” Jones did it over a decade ago.
WR, Tyler Boyd
After Higgins, Boyd was the team’s most consistent receiver. As usual, he was a reliable target on important downs when the chains needed moving. He made 6 catches for 52 yards.
RB, Joe Mixon
Despite Zac Taylor abandoning the running game for the second straight week, Joe Mxon finds himself in the good column yet again. He was running hard and making people miss. His efficiency was good, logging 4.5 yards per carry. He also added 36 yards on 4 catches. Wish we would have seen more of him, but he did well with his opportunities.
The Bad:
DE, Trey Hendrickson
In a game where the Ravens were missing some of their starters, the Bengals DL was expected to have a big day. However, that didn’t happen. Hendrickson is the team’s best pass rusher, but was largely invisible in this one, and Larmar Jackson had a lot of time to go through his progressions.
DT, BJ Hill
Hill, like Hendrickson, also was invisible. Starting alongside Reader on the inside, Hill is the one expected to provide much of the interior pass rush. However, there has not been a lot to write home about through 2 games.
Defensive Execution & DC, Lou Anarumo
Hendrickson and Hill were singled out up above, but really, the defensive execution as a whole was not good. Lamar Jackson has shown to be uncomfortable on longer passing downs, but the Ravens consistently turned 1st down into 2nd & medium or short. Thus, 3rd down conversions were much easier to come by. While there were a couple of solid performances on defence – DJ Reader and Daxton Hill come to mind for me – the overall execution was bad. As well, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who usually has a solid game plan prepared for Baltimore, seemed to have no answers.
QB, Joe Burrow
Burrow wasn’t horrible like in week 1. In fact, in some stretches, he looked quite good. However, early in the 2nd half, he threw a bad interception deep in Baltimore territory. The Ravens scored a TD shortly after that, and the hill to climb from that point on proved to be a bit too high. As well, Burrow aggravated his training camp calf injury, and may now be forced to miss some time.
Head Coach, Zac Taylor
This is something we have seen three years in a row now. Bad, conservative play calling in the early weeks of the season. Taylor’s unwillingness to push the ball downfield until absolutely necessary contributed significantly to the offence’s anemic look. They looked better later on in the 2nd half when they changed things up, but by then, it was too late.
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