The Bengals were in desperate search of a win, coming off of two consecutive defeats to start the season, both of which were divisional games. Given Burrow’s injury status, there was a lot to be worried about heading into this game. In the end, it wasn’t pretty. At times, they had to grind out every inch of forward movement. But the offence did enough to get it done against the Rams, and the defence kept getting better and better as the game went on, helping keep things afloat when the offence wasn’t having much success.
The Good:
DE, Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson wasn’t at his best last week, but sure turned things around in week 3. He looked like the player we have become accustomed to seeing. Hendrickson was dominant around the edge, consistently putting Matthew Stafford in uncomfortable situations. For his efforts, he was rewarded with 2 sacks.
LB, Logan Wilson
Wilson, like Hendrickson, was also a dominant force in this one. He was flying around the field, but his play in coverage is really what tilted things. Wilson first jumped a route to pick off Stafford’s pass. Later on, he got his second interception off a tipped ball.
S, Daxton Hill
Daxton Hill, in his third straight game, has shown to be the player that the Bengals were hoping for when they decided to let Jessie Bates walk in free agency. Hill has shown tremendous range in coverage, but in this contest, it was his ability down low and as a blitzer that really shone. Though he isn’t the biggest guy, Hill is a hard hitter. Further, his dynamic athleticism makes it tough for the QB to escape his blitzes. Hill picked up a sack, and was disruptive on several other occasions.
WR, Ja’Marr Chase
Chase made up most of the Bengals offence against the Rams. They were largely unable to push the ball downfield due to Burrow’s injury, so Chase was moved around the formation quite often. This tactic worked, as Chase piled on the yards, whether he was catching screens or quick slants. Later on, he did finally catch one down the field, after a fake toss opened things up a bit. In total, Chase went for 141 yards on 12 catches.
RB, Joe Mixon
Mixon’s statistical efficiency doesn’t look great. Though his 3.4 yards per carry is skewed by some negative runs late in the game when they were running out the clock. Overall, Mixon looked explosive and did put together a few nice runs, even though the offence was pass heavy. He also scored the team’s only TD of the game on a run from 14 yards out. Mixon totaled 65 yards on the ground, and another 5 off his only catch of the game.
DT’s, DJ Reader & BJ Hill
The Bengals defence had been starving for more interior pressure through 2 games. In game 3, Reader and Hill came through. Reader might have made the most important play of the game. It was on the Rams first drive of the game, after their end around TD had been called back due to Atwell stepping out of bounds. They were still in a threatening position, but Reader picked up a critical sack. Unable to recover, they had to settle for a field goal. Hill was also more disruptive than he had been entering the game, and his sack also was a big one.
DE, Sam Hubbard
Though Hendrickson was the standout edge rusher, Hubbard also played a big part as his running mate. He also had plenty of success off the edge, which included a sack of his own. His efforts against the run also did not go unnoticed.
The Bad:
WR, Tee Higgins
It was a rough one for Higgins. Not because he only put up 21 receiving yards, but because he committed several bad drops. Multiple times, he had the ball put right in his mitts, and for whatever reason, just couldn’t hang on. It is uncharacteristic, and won’t become a long run issue. But the mistakes hurt the team badly in those moments, especially considering some of the offensive struggles.
G, Cordell Volson
On an offensive line that played relatively well, Volson was the weak link. He wasn’t terrible, especially considering that was matchup up against Aaron Donald quite a bit. But overall, I’m still hoping he is able to take that next step.
Offensive Efficiency
The offensive efficiency wasn’t expected to be all that good, given Burrow’s injury. But I still have to mention it, as this kind of limitation will make sustained success difficult. It did get a little better as the 2nd half went on, but for much of the game, the offensive game plan was to just dink and dunk their way downfield. Hopefully Burrow’s health continues to improve as the weeks pass, and they can be a bit more aggressive.
Modified Homescreen Image Via: Eli Marshall