Going into the bye week with a #BENGALS WIN!#TBvsCIN #SeizeTheDEY pic.twitter.com/ihcBgf9Xdp
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 28, 2018
Wait, we won? Really didn’t feel like we won.
Sunday was a freaking mess. The Bengals once again give me a heart attack.
Let’s dive in:
Negatives
Ultra-conservative 2nd Half
Jesus Christ, of course we’re going conservative in the 2nd half once again. You would think that Marvin would would know after 15 years, that going conservative in the 2nd half just doesn’t work.
But year 16, he’s still doing. Screw you Marvin.
Bengals Offense in the second half:
12 plays, 19 yards, 0 first downs.
…against the worst ranked Defense in the league. pic.twitter.com/JyR20lPJM7
— Cincinnati ? (@CincyProblems) October 28, 2018
But that was the story of the 2nd half. Our offense had 4 straight 3 & outs.
While we went conservative, that let the Buccaneers slowly come back. The play calling was plain and predictable. If we would have just ran our normal offense, the game never gets close and they never come back.
Our offense was just too much for their defense. Going super conservative nearly made us lose.
The Defense
Did the defense do some positive stuff? Absolutely. However, they gave up 576 fucking yards.
Let that sink in.
576 yards.
Jesus, how bad can this defense get? I mean, at least we’re not the worst defense in the league, right?
Updated #Bengals rankings:
Total O: 23
Rush O: 27
Pass O: 19
Scoring O: 10
Total D: 32
Rush D: 26
Pass D: 32
Scoring D: 29— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) October 29, 2018
Damn it.
Getting back on track, it really is sad when you have 4 interceptions (1 being a pick 6) and 6 sacks, but you allow that yardage and give up 34 points. It’s really an indictment of how bad Teryl Austin is.
He has managed to turn an extremely young, talented defense into a flaming piece of shit. Oh yeah, we’re also on pace to set a record for yardage allowed in a season.
Teryl Austin sucks.
Carl Lawson Out For The Year
Bengals’ LB Carl Lawson tore his ACL today and is out for the season, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 28, 2018
Ugggggghhhhhhhhh.
I know Lawson’s sack count isn’t high, but he was getting pressure on the QB constantly. Major blow to this talented defensive line.
Positives
Joe Mixon
We finally give Mixon a lot of carries, and would you look at that? Mixon played great.
His vision was amazing against a Buccaneers defense. He was making the Buccaneers defense look like a bunch of drunk kids trying to fit in. It’s truly amazing what our offense can do if we give Mixon the ball. Letting Mixon shred on the ground opens up the pass game.
I don’t know why we forgot how good Mixon was the past couple weeks, but he we finally realized he needs the ball. Now, our offense did go full bungle in the 2nd half, and he only got 9 yards. But that’s more on the offensive line, and the predictable play calling.
A two-TD game for @Joe_MainMixon! #HaveADay #TBvsCIN#SeizeTheDEY pic.twitter.com/KgWyhqD3gJ
— NFL (@NFL) October 28, 2018
Tyler Boyd
Before the game, a friend and myself found where the players parked and walked in. We saw Tyler Boyd walk in. I got to say, he’s got a nice ass car. I mean, really fucking nice. ALMOST as nice as his game on Sunday.
Week 8 #ShouldersofGreatness: Tyler Boyd led the victorious @bengals in both catches and yards! Make sure to pick up Head & Shoulders in Cincinnati local @Kroger stores #SeizeTheDay pic.twitter.com/mYmRE1n4pA
— Head & Shoulders (@Headshoulders) October 29, 2018
We knew Boyd was going to be good this year, we saw it towards the end of last year and in training camp this year. But damn, he’s been amazing.
Sunday was another great showing. He was “the guy” for Andy. He put up 138 receiving yards against a Buccaneers defense that seemed like they were doing everything they could to let him have his way with them. Him and Green are making a dangerous combo.
#Bengals' A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd have both earned top-10 overall grades through Week 8, coming together to form one of the NFL's best WR tandems.
? (via PFF's @emcphil): https://t.co/99PMFnmC3W pic.twitter.com/Z5nWKhgjC7
— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) October 29, 2018
If only we had another wide receiver, perhaps one super fast who could open up our offense with his speed………
Defense creating Turnovers/Sacks
Despite the defense giving away free yards, they still created many turnovers and had 6 sacks. That’s very impressive. Knowing who Jamies Winston is, the turnovers were expected.
Winston is basically a turnover waiting to happen. He made some incredibly stupid throws. Like I don’t want to take anything away from Preston Brown here, but Jamies literally gave us this interception:
This throw by Jameis Winston may be the worst of the season at any level. pic.twitter.com/q79tDyjAJj
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 28, 2018
The defense was aware that Jamies would make mistakes with the ball, and that’s how they schemed their defense. We did a great job of forcing him to make the bad throws.
Our defense finally managed to rack up some pressures and sacks. 6 total sacks against the Buccaneers. That’s exactly what the defense needed.
However, what’s kind of sad, is our defense did what Austin wants it to do. Austin said something very questionable after the game:
#Bengals defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on all the stats and records showing how historically bad the #Bengals D has been:
"Count the Ws and the Ls. That's the only stat at the end of the year that counts. That's all I care about. And getting turnovers."— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) October 29, 2018
Okay, so he’s basically saying “as long as we get some turnovers and win the game, nothing else is important.”
Wrong.
Our defense is basically reliant on getting turnovers to be successful. Thing is, our defense did exactly that on Sunday. We got turnovers, but still allowed 34 points. The defense can’t always rely on our offense to win it for us.
When are we going to start talking about Jessie Bates for defensive rookie of the year?
The #Steelers haven't had a safety that can make a play like this since Troy. And now, because they don't know how to draft defensive backs, they don't have this guy either. Jessie Bates is a baller pic.twitter.com/NeRcG0pkyC
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) October 29, 2018
Question
Can the Bengals adjust to the current injuries?
Bengals have gotten destroyed with injuries. How will we adjust? It’s important we find and use the depth we have. If we can’t, our season could be in trouble.
Although, we don’t always respond well after a tough loss (losing to the Chiefs is an example of that). So how we respond after 2 bad losses will show a lot about this team. If we can respond well and come out with a win, then playoff hopes are still high. However, if we lose, then this season is heading in the wrong direction fast.