The Bengals suffered a tough home loss to the Green Bay Packers, one they probably feel they should have won. The Packers were the toughest test faced by the Bengals to date, so being so close does bring some optimism regarding the future of this season. However, it can also be tough to take moral victories in a game where our own mistakes cost us. Let’s look at some of the positives and negatives that led to the outcome of the game.
The Good:
– WR, Ja’Marr Chase
I am running out of things to say about Chase, as he finds himself on this list time after time. Another week, and another deep TD catch. This one was a whopping 70 yarder at the end of the 1st half. He did well to help out Burrow who was looking and looking for a target. Burrow had a ton of time on the play and launched it to his former college teammate. Chase did well to catch it with the defender right there. He went all out to breakup the pass, but his whiff allowed Chase to walk the rest of the way untouched.
– DE, Trey Hendrickson
Hendrickson has continued to produce at a nice pace. He has been what the Bengals were hoping for when they signed him to replace Carl Lawson. Hendrickson added another couple of sacks on Sunday, while putting up consistent pressure throughout the game.
– RB, Samaje Perine
Perine took the bulk of the load with Joe Mixon limited. He had a good day on the ground, averaging over 5 yards per carry. As well, he was involved in the passing game, making a nice catch for a 1st down on one, and scoring a TD on another.
– RB, Joe Mixon
Nothing really stands out on the stat sheet for Mixon in week 5. However, considering he was limited with an injury and didn’t practice last week, I thought he looked pretty good. He ran hard and was hitting the holes when he could. On his TD run, he made a nice move to make the defender miss.
– CB, Mike Hilton
Hilton was always expected to have his peaks and valleys in coverage when we signed him, but on Sunday, he had a good day covering Cobb in the slot. He was particularly impressive on one play where he broke up a pass to the end zone on 3rd down that was intended for Cobb. Saved a TD and forced them to attempt a field goal.
– KR, Brandon Wilson
Wilson had arguably his best day returning kicks this season. He got the Bengals in good field position a couple of times, with his best return going for 44 yards.
The Bad:
– Safeties Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell
Not a good day for these two, as Davante Adams was allowed to have a field day in the deep middle. There were consistent busts (not all on the safeties though), and Bell and Bates weren’t always in the best of position to help out the CB’s.
– Run defence
Top RB’s like Jones will almost always fill the stat sheet, but allowing 7.4 yards per carry is bad. As well, Jones’ long run of 57 yards came at a terrible time, as the Bengals were trying to keep their offence out of field goal range.
– QB, Joe Burrow
This one might be debated, as he did some really good things. But with QB’s of this calibre, that is expected of him. However, there were some bad plays and questionable decisions that would hopefully not linger around past last week. Burrow threw 2 interceptions in this game. The first one was on the move intended for Auden Tate. There were people who wanted him to throw it away. Personally, I don’t mind the decision, as the play was there. But it just wasn’t a good throw by Burrow. The other INT was a very questionable decision that came on the first play in OT. He wasn’t on the same page with Tyler Boyd, but even if he was, there seemed to be too much traffic to be making that throw.
The last thing needing to be pointed out is the massive hit he took. We can all admire his toughness and desire to put his body on the line to pick up a 1st down, but not when you are still 5 yards from the marker. Burrow needs to be smarter than that going forward and can’t put himself at unnecessary risk.
– K, Evan McPherson
It is tough to put McPherson here, as he has been good this season and those were some tough kicks with the wind. However, missing two chances at a game winner will land you here every time. He’ll bounce back though.
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