The Bengals engaged in a hard fought battle on Thursday Night Football, as the two most recent 1st overall draft picks faced each other for the first time since the 2020 National Championship game. It was a tale of two halves in this one. The Bengals came out flat in the 1st half, before coming up with an incredible comeback in the 2nd. As you’d probably expect, this game was a mixed bag in terms of positives and negatives.
The Good:
– TE, CJ Uzomah
Boy, what a game from Uzomah. It seemed as though just about every play he was involved in turned out to be absolutely crucial for the Bengals to win this game. Uzomah scored two TD’s in this game. The first one was a 22 yard catch and run where Burrow did a good job of lobbing a soft pass to him and allowing him to take it the rest of the way. The second TD was especially impressive, as he had to get on the same page with Burrow during a scramble drill. Uzomah ran parallel to Burrow as he scrambled to his left. Burrow was able to find Uzomah near the sideline and Uzomah took it 31 yards to the house.
Not to be overshadowed, CJ Uzomah also made a critical play at the end of the game. Sitting at the Jacksonville 46, the Bengals still needed some yards to get into field goal range, and even more yards to make it more comfortable. Burrow called CJ’s number and tossed him a quick screen to counter an all out blitz. With the help of some good blocking, Uzomah took it 25 yards. Evan McPherson kicked the game winner just a couple of plays later.
– QB, Joe Burrow
Yet another game where Joe Burrow shows why he was taken 1st overall. Although the first half was quiet offensively, he came out slinging it in the second half. A deep pass dropped in the bucket to Ja’Marr Chase got things going, and he proceeded to methodically pick apart the Jags defense. He showed a great command of the offence, routinely audibling at the line. Most notably, he audibled into the screen pass to Uzomah in order to counter their all out blitz. That play led to the game winning field goal. Further, he showed the ability to overcome adversity (in Primetime!!!) and fought his way back into the game, something that didn’t always happen during the Dalton era.
– OT’s, Jonah Williams & Riley Reiff
The bookends of the offensive line held up well. Not only in this game, but in each of the Bengals first four games, Jonah Williams and RIley Reiff have been great. Pressures allowed have been minimized and both have been good in the run game.
– Zac Taylor
In a game that very easily could have emulated one of Marvin Lewis’ signature defeats, Zac Taylor avoided that fate by making the necessary halftime adjustments.
He took more shots down the field but, perhaps drawing more attention, was the way things shifted in the run game. Through the first half, and really the first three and a half weeks, the vast majority of the Bengals run game consisted of runs up the gut. You can call it bland, vanilla, or anything else. The bottom line is that it wasn’t always working and was becoming too predictable. In the second half against the Jags, there was a heavy emphasis on runs to the outside, with the OL operating in a zone scheme. There were even some plays where they had up to eight guys lined up on the line, with the two TE’s, Uzomah and Sample, along with an extra OL in Isaiah Prince. The new variety yielded good results and Joe Mixon was able to find more room on a consistent basis. It helped them keep their offence at least somewhat balanced.
– WR, Tyler Boyd
Boyd had a nice day in the receiving game, from start to finish. He picked up yards after the catch on multiple occasions and was a consistent chain mover for the Bengals. In addition to his sure hands, he displayed some truly unbelievable routes which allowed him to get open on crucial plays. Boyd finished the day with 9 catches for 118 yards.
– The LB’s
The Bengals young LB unit has had a really strong start to the year. The group is being led by Logan Wilson, who was all over the field on Thursday. He finished the game with 10 tackles. Germaine Pratt was right behind him with 8, and he also had a strong day against the run.
Playing fewer snaps than Wilson and Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither still managed to flash. In addition to 2 tackles, he made an impressive pass breakup to get the defence off the field. He is beginning to flash the coverage ability that had many people impressed during his draft year.
The Bad:
– The DL
After a great start to the season in the first three games, the DL came back down to earth in game 4. In the first half, James Robinson had his way on the ground, picking up chunk yards left and right. Further, their lack of pressure allowed Trevor Lawrence to find his targets down the field. The second half was better, but the group will need to show improvement in week 5 against a top RB in Aaron Jones.
– CB, Trae Waynes
Waynes made his Bengals debut on Thursday and had some moments to forget, including a deep pass given up to Laviska Shenault. I am willing to cut him some slack because, after all, it is his first game in well over a year. That being said, you need better performances from someone being paid as much as he is.
– S, Vonn Bell
Vonn Bell had a shaky game all around. Had some iffy moments in coverage, missed a tackle that led to a TD, and got called for a costly penalty just before that. They needed him to be better with Jessie Bates out with an injury.
– CB, Darius Phillips
Phillips has only seen limited action on defence this year with the added depth. With Awuzie out on Thursday, he saw some snaps, but did not impress. He was loose in coverage, allowing too much separation for an easy catch. He also missed the tackle along the sideline.
With Jessie Bates out, Brandon Wilson started at safety, which prompted the Bengals to take him off of return duties for the evening. Phillips saw all of the returns that would have otherwise gone to Wilson. However, he failed to show much when he did get the opportunity to return the ball. Given his athletic profile and plays made in the past, I don’t know if it is a huge concern at this point. But with a significant increase in reps, he surely would have liked the output to have been greater than what it was.
Homescreen Image Via: Jeffrey Beall (CC)