The Bengals went into week 3 hopeful that they could get their first win in a game where they were heavily favoured. But while the offence came to play, the defence was about as close to a no show as you can get. Going forward, some changes will need to be made.
The Good:
WR, Ja’Marr Chase
The matchup suggested that Chase might blow up, and he sure did. He exploded to the tune of 6 catches for 118 yards and 2 TD’s. Both his TD’s came on deep shots, and he was a threat that required consistent double teams from the defence.
QB, Joe Burrow
Burrow had himself a good game. He was routinely picking apart a weak Commanders defence, passing the ball with accuracy down the field. He completed 29 of 38 pass attempts for 324 yards and 3 TD’s.
RB’s, Zack Moss & Chase Brown
This is the best the Bengals running game has looked in a while. The opponent does factor in, but still, both Moss and Brown were running hard and with decisiveness. Moss contributed significantly in the passing game, adding 39 yards to his 58 on the ground. He also scored a TD. Brown saw less opportunities than Moss, but out-rushed him. He looked very explosive, on some carries, getting around the corner and turning up field for extra yards. Brown rushed for 62 yards, and also added 7 in the passing game.
Run Blocking
The run blocking also deserves a lot of credit for the success of Moss and Brown against the Commanders. The running lanes were often quite big, and it seemed like they were able to pick up some steam on a lot of their carries before facing contact.
The Bad:
Defence
There are some individual performances that were especially bad, but the defence as a whole needs to be called out. No push up front, sloppy tackling, lapses in coverage etc. It was all there.
LB, Germaine Pratt
Pratt looked sloppy as a tackler. His tendency to go for the ball, rather than wrapping up, has led to missed tackles. As well, while he is generally good in coverage, he looked lost on multiple occasions on Monday night.
DT, Zach Carter
Carter played a big role with Hill and Rankins out. It was an opportunity for him to turn around what has been a poor start to his career. However, he is increasingly looking like a bust of a draft pick. Nothing was created as a pass rusher, and he also contributed little as a run defender.
CB’s, Cam Taylor-Britt & Daxton Hill
Looking at the game as a whole, there were bigger issues than the coverage on the boundary. However, both gave up big plays to McLaurin that were backbreakers. Taylor-Britt got beat deep, which set up the Commanders inside the 5 yard line. Hill got beat deep for a TD late in the game, when the Bengals needed a 3rd down stop to realistically still have a chance of winning.
DE, Sam Hubbard
Hubbard is a veteran in the room, but his play has been dropping off since last season. Last year, he got some benefit of the doubt because he was playing injured. But this year, he still has not been able to make an impact, leaving Trey Hendrickson to essentially carry the load of an entire pass rush on his own.
S, Vonn Bell
Bell made his return to Cincy in the offseason after a 1 year stint in Carolina. However, so far, the veteran looks like he has lost a step or two. This made him late in run support, and also allowed Washington to exploit the weakness in the passing game.
Redzone Offence
Hard to put too much blame on the offence, when the defence is the reason for the loss. But they did have some trips to the redzone that resulted in field goals. This has been an issue all season, and will need to improve.
The Front Office
They let DJ Reader walk at a reasonable price, and had no plan to replace him. Sure, they drafted McKinnley Jackson. But realistically, they were never going to be expecting a 3rd round rookie to fill those shoes. They had no plan, and we are now seeing the results. Even before the injuries, run defence was an issue.
K, Evan McPherson
Last week, he missed an extra point in a one point loss. In week 3, he missed another field goal. Two weeks in a row with a big miss. The Bengals will need more out of McPherson, especially after he got a hefty extension during the offseason.
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