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Bills Game Recap/Analysis


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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A 29-yard punt return by Brandon Tate set up the Bengals in great field position at the Buffalo 33 in overtime, leading to Mike Nugent's 43-yard field goal to give the Bengals a 27-24 win Sunday in Buffalo.

The Bengals were able to escape with the win after allowing the Bills 14 fourth-quarter points to tie the game at 24 when quaterback Thad Lewis hit wide receiver Marquise Goodwin for a 40-yard scoring pass with 1:08 remaining. Earlier in the period Lewis found tight end Scott Chandler wide open across the middle for 22 yards and the score on a fourth-and-eight conversion.

In overtime the Bengals won the coin toss and elected to receive. After an offensive pass interference call on wide receiver A.J. Green put the Bengals in a first-and-20 hole, quarterback Andy Dalton found Green for 12 yards, wide receiver Mohamed Sanu for 10 more, and then running back Giovani Bernard for 23 yards on a swing pass to the Buffalo 42. But the drive stalled there and a Kevin Huber punt pinned the Bills at their seven-yard line.

The Bengals defense forced the Bills into a three-and-out, setting up Tate's 29-yard return. 

After scoring one touchdown in the previous 130 minutes, the Bengals offense responded with three Dalton touchdown passes in building a 24-10 lead over the Bills at the end of the third quarter.

The Bengals spent the game's last 20 minutes trying to figure out how to give the game to Bills journeyman quarterback Lewis in his second NFL start. Dalton finished 26-of-40 for 337 yards and a passer rating of 105.9. But mistakes allowed Lewis to hang around. The Bills quarterback finished 19-of-32 for 216 yards and a 100.5 rating.

The defense responded most of the day and it was called on to win it again after Bernard got stopped on third-and-two just inside the 50 and a Huber punt put the ball on the Bills 14 with 2:40 left in regulation.    

Leading 24-10, the Bengals couldn't deliver the dagger late in the third quarter when they had a first down from the Bills 10 following a facemask call after a Mario Williams sack of Dalton. But Dalton's third-down pass to Green on the end zone's back line as he scrambled out of the pocket was too high and Nugent's 24-yard field goal was negated on a hold by tight end Alex Smith. Nugent then sliced the 34-yarder wide right with 1:15 left in the third quarter.

Special teams broke down moments later when cornerback Adam Jones juggled a punt on the first play of the fourth quarter and the Bengals had to start at their own 5 and a weak drive set up Huber's first punt of the day, a 41-yarder out of the end zone that put the Bills on the Bengals 45 with 12:46 left in the game.

That turned into a fourth-and-eight touchdown pass from Lewis to Chandler running away from the coverage of left end Carlos Dunlap for a 22-yard play that cut the lead to 24-17 with 10:13 left in the game.

The Bengals took a 24-10 lead with 10:49 left in the third quarter on a series set up by Dunlap's forced fumble of Lewis as he ran out of the pocket and WILL backer Vontaze Burfict recovered at the Bengals 47.

On third-and-eight from the Bills 10, Dalton couldn't find anyone in the end zone when he found time as he moved out of the pocket, he found wide receiver Marvin Jones coming back for the ball from the right corner to the goal line and fired a 10-yard touchdown pass.  

Using yards after catch the Bengals got big plays from their wide receivers for the first time in a month Sunday when they raced to a 17-10 halftime lead.

But they needed two huge stands from the defense, the last after Dalton threw an interception right into the arms of safety Jim Leonhard on a third-down slant with 1:44 left in the half that Leonhard ran to the Bengals 38. From there WILL backer Vontaze Burfict dumped running back Fred Jackson for a three-yard loss on a first-down swing pass to take Buffalo out of field-goal range and nose tackle Domata Peko sacked Lewis on second down to force the punt.

Dalton had delivered a solid half before the ill-advised throw to Green and finished 9-of-14 for 177 yards and 117.6 passer rating. He kept alive one touchdown drive on a third-down scramble for six yards when he made Rookie of the Month middle linebacker Kiko Alonso miss, and he threw for the second one when he wriggled out of a sack with a resourceful shovel pass to Bernard over the middle. Bernard turned it into a 20-yard play when he made no less than four Bills miss from the 16 on in to give the Bengals a 17-7 halftime lead with 8:34 left in the half as they capped off a 98-yard drive.

Green set up the score with a 54-yard, wide-open screen, his longest play of the year that was aided by monstrous blocks by left tackle Andrew Whitworth on the 188-pound Leonhard and Sanu on defensive back Brandon Smith.

Earlier, Marvin Jones ripped off 42 yards on a screen pass for the first 40-plus-yard play by a wide receiver since Green had two in the opener and it set up Dalton's 18-yard touchdown pass to Green working one-on-one against Bills Pro Bowl free safety Jairus Byrd in his season debut. Green got behind Byrd on a post corner and then leaped over his back to tear it away before he fell out of the right corner to give the Bengals a 10-7 lead with 5:26 left in the first quarter.

The Bengals also showed some ability to run the ball when running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis picked up 51 yards on seven carries to spearhead a 107-yard rushing half to go with Green's 80 yards on three catches, his best outing since the opener.

The Bengals kept the Bills in the game because they couldn't stop the run and sometimes Lewis ran the zone read but most of the time it was zone blocking that either knocked the Bengals off the ball or made them miss tackles. Three backs had at least 20 yards as the Bills finished the half with 86 yards on 21 carries and three personal foul calls on Burfict added to a curious stat sheet that had the Bengals called for four penalties and none for the Bills.

For the second straight week the Bengals defense staged a stand from the 1-yard line, but this one came on the final three snaps of a four-down set and ended when SAM linebacker James Harrison chased down Lewis on a play-action bootleg for a one-yard loss on fourth down.

Like he did against New England last Sunday backup linebacker Vincent Rey had a stop (this one on third down), and Harrison added a stop on second down as the Bengals blunted a drive in which the AFC-best Bills rushing game racked up 61 rushing yards alone in that drive.

That gave rise to the 98-yard drive, the fifth Bengals touchdown drive of at least 90 yards this season and their ninth of at least 80 yards after combining for 19 the previous two seasons.

It didn’t take long for the ghosts of T. J. Yates, Brian Hoyer and all the other obscure quarterbacks that have upset the Bengals to rattle their chains. In fact, it took only three snaps on Buffalo's first third down when wide receiver T.J. Graham ran by cornerback Adam Jones on a 47-yard bomb that put Buffalo into the red zone five minutes into the game.

Lewis then avoided a sack and when he ran for five yards he got 15 tacked on for roughing when Burfict and defensive end Wallace Gilberry converged on his dive. Lewis than ran in a shotgun snap from three yards out to give the Bills a 10-3 lead seven minutes into the game and snap Cincinnati's streak of 21 straight games without giving up a touchdown on its first drive of the game.

Lewis finished the half 8-of-11 for 67 yards and that touchdown for a 88.1 passer rating.

A reverse back to the left to wide receiver Marvin Jones off a feed from Bernard had clear sailing down the left side and Jones made a nice move on defensive end Jerry Hughes to pick up the last 10 yards or so down to the Bills 28.

But the drive stalled on three snaps before Nugent's 46-yard field goal gave the Bengals a 3-0 lead 2:46 into the game. Dalton scrambled away from pressure on first down and two slants to Jones got broken up, the last one by cornerback Leodis McKelvin.

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-win-in-OT-on-Nugent-FG/1439932f-719e-4c20-9779-d831a3261b0e

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One things really bothers me though. Has anyone else noticed nearly every time the Bengals bring Reggie Nelson up to the line of scrimmage before the snap to blitz. It's almost always a big play for the other team ? I really like Reggie but he is not a good blitzer

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One things really bothers me though. Has anyone else noticed nearly every time the Bengals bring Reggie Nelson up to the line of scrimmage before the snap to blitz. It's almost always a big play for the other team ? I really like Reggie but he is not a good blitzer

 

 

I dunno about the tendency for big plays, but this defense has long been bad at timing their blitzes whether its a LB, CB or S.

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*"I'm not crazy about this offense, it's way too methodical. With these weapons they should be more up tempo,"-Boomer
 

 

 

no matter what you think of Boomer, he's dead on here.  You saw a sense of urgency from the offense in the first half today that I don't think we've seen since they were down big against Green Bay.  

 

 

I continue to think this offense is at its best when they go uptempo and spread it to all the weapons.

 

Kind of amusing since he spent 1988 handing off to Brooks, KInnebrew, and Woods for 5 yards a pop most of the time.

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I dunno about the tendency for big plays, but this defense has long been bad at timing their blitzes whether its a LB, CB or S.

I realize the surprise part of blitzing guys the offense isn't expecting. But I'd rather blitz guys who can easily beat the running back block and get to the QB fast. Mays, # 92 etc  . .

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- A few thoughts on the Cincinnati Bengals27-24 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills

What it means: With their overtime win over the Bills, the Bengals have put together back-to-back wins for only the second time this season. While they failed to completely shut down the Bills after holding a 14-point fourth-quarter lead, they did earn yet another dramatic victory when Mike Nugent drilled a 43-yard game-winning field goal. It was Nugent's second game-winning field goal from 43 yards against the Bills. 

cin.gifStock watch: Bengals' passing game. Two weeks ago, the word "atrocious" might have been the most accurate way to describe the Bengals' passing woes in a 17-6 loss to Cleveland. The effort made some in the fan base call for offensive coordinator Jay Gruden to lose his job and for quarterback Andy Dalton to be replaced. Since then, though, the masses have tamed a bit. Cincinnati has showcased a more balanced scheme the past two games that features a re-emerging passing attack. After throwing for 212 yards and completing 73 percent of his passes against New England last week, Dalton threw for 337 yards and completed 65 percent of his throws Sunday. He added three touchdowns and an interception. Many of his early passes were the short screens that his athletic receivers and running backs turned into long gains. A.J. GreenGiovani Bernard and Marvin Jones all had receptions longer than 40 yards. 

Flag magnet? Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict seemed to be targeted by officials, drawing three 15-yard penalties from the crew headed by Ed Hochuli. Each came in the first half. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after coming in late on a tackle to stop a run by Bills quarterback Thad Lewis, drew a personal foul on a tackle attempt on Bills receiver T.J. Graham, and was charged with a face mask penalty at the end of another tackle. The unsportsmanlike call put the Bills inside the 10. Two plays later, they scored. Burfict has now been penalized six times this season. His only other 15-yard penalty came three weeks ago, when he drew an unnecessary roughness call against the Packers. It's a tough balance Burfict has to walk, though. He can't calm his play too much. After all, he is Cincinnati's leading tackler and is around most every play. 

What's next: Cincinnati's October road tour continues next Sunday when it travels to Detroit. The Bengals (4-2) are in the middle of a month that will see them play four out of five games on the road. They lead the all-time series against the Lions 7-3.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/1782/bengals-bills-nfl-football-rapid-reaction

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  • Andy Dalton answered critics this week with a solid three-touchdown performance. Though he did throw an interception and those same critics will argue most of Dalton's production came off yards after the catch, it was a solid performance from Dalton; though those same inconsistency traits showed up. In the end, Dalton completed 65 percent of his passes, threw three touchdowns and generated a passer rating of 105.9.
  • The Bengals offense generated 284 yards in the first half, helping Cincinnati build a 17-10 lead in the first half. They also converted six of their first nine third down opportunities. Cincinnati finished with 483 yards.
  • Green posted his best game since generated 162 yards and two touchdowns against the Chicago Bears. Green caught six passes against the Bills for 103 yards receiving and a beautiful touchdown reception over cornerback McKelvin.
  • Great day by Marvin Jones. Posted 76 yards from scrimmage in the first quarter (34-yard run, 42-yard catch). Jones added a block that sprang Mohamed Sanu free for a first down and later added a touchdown to give the Bengals a 24-10 lead.
  • Giovani Bernard finished with 110 yards from scrimmage, largely the result from his 72 yards receiving on six receptions. He also scored a touchdown. Running the football was a bit of a struggle, posting 28 yards rushing on 15 carries.
  • BenJarvus Green-Ellis posted his best game of the season, generating 86 yards rushing on 18 carries.

http://www.cincyjungle.com/bengals-bills/2013/10/13/4834574/bengals-beat-bills-27-24-overtime-win

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Observed in the locker room after the Cincinnati Bengals27-24 victory against the Buffalo Bills
 

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Lewis

They'll take it: In Marvin Lewis' eyes, a win is a win. But the Bengals coach admitted just after Mike Nugent's game-winning 43-yard field goal that he wished his team would start claiming its Ws slightly differently. Cincinnati saw a 14-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate as Buffalo tied the game by the end of regulation. "You hate to have to do it this way, but that's what we're stuck doing right now," Lewis said. "We'll just keep coaching hard and try to prevent this." 

Michigan man's O-H-I-O: How about this for brotherhood? Just before the field goal by Nugent, an Ohio State product, fellow Bengal and Michigan product, Leon Hall yelled to Nugent, "O-H ..." Nugent's response, according to Hall: "I-O." The spelling of the state's name is an iconic Ohio State tradition. Michigan, of course, is Ohio State's rival. Hall said "O-H" again in the locker room, but Nugent didn't respond. 

Respecting Thad: Bengals defensive end and former Georgia Tech standout Michael Johnson said he warned his teammates to respect Bills quarterback Thad Lewis, who was signed off the practice squad. He faced Lewis, who went to Duke, three times in college. "Thad's a good player. ... I'm sure when he gets his opportunities, he's going to take advantage of them."

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/1790/locker-room-buzz-cincinnati-bengals-2

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Kiko is a ballplayer.  I wish he was running with us. 

 

Well, to get him we would have had to use the Gio pick.  While it would be nice to have another balling backer, IMO it's Gio that makes our offense Go.

 

As it stands right now, those two are in the lead for ROY on their respective sides of the ball.  I'm glad we got one of them...

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