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Nine takeaways from Bengals' victory over Ravens


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Led by a trio of A.J. Green touchdowns, the Cincinnati Bengals (2-0) jumped out to a 21-0 lead and held on for a 34-23 victory over the Baltimore Ravens (1-1) in Week 2. Here's what we learned on Thursday Night Football:

1. Playing without suspended shutdown corner Jimmy Smith, the Ravens struggled to contain Green in the first half, allowing three scores in 17 minutes. Credit the Bengals for moving Green around the formation, allowing him to do most of his damage out of the slot. With a year to install Bill Lazor's playbook in addition to an overhauled offensive line and a healthy receiving corps, Cincinnati's offense is one of the league's most improved.

 

 

 

From the end of the season opener through the first half of Thursday night's game, the Bengals scored six touchdowns and a field goal over a span of eight drives. Although Baltimore's defense put the clamps on for the majority of the second half, Andy Dalton led a 10-play, 65-yard drive that culminated in a field goal to give his team some breathing room in the middle of the fourth quarter. This marks the fifth time Dalton has recorded a four-touchdown performance -- and the first time since MVP Matt Ryan in 2016 that a quarterback accomplished the feat before halftime.

2. Not to be outdone, Cincinnati's defense harassed Joe Flacco throughout, racking up four sacks, 12 deflected passes, four tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits. Just when it appeared that the Ravens were entering comeback mode late in the fourth quarter, Carlos Dunlap forced in an interception by hitting Flacco's elbow. After a John Brown touchdown brought Baltimore back into striking distance, safety Shawn Williams popped Flacco from behind, forcing a fumble that effectively extinguished any hopes of overtime.

3. Williams added eight tackles and an interception, providing a dose of redemption in the eyes of Bengals fans after he was ejected from the season opener for drilling Andrew Luck in the helmet.

4. The Ravens lost their defensive leader when Pro Bowl inside linebacker C.J. Mosley was carted to the locker room with a knee injury early in the first quarter. As it turned out, the injury is a bone bruise and coach John Harbaugh said an MRI revealed Mosley didn't suffer any ligament damage. Harbaugh said he wasn't sure if Mosley would play next week. Considering the possibilities, that has to qualify as good news for a star player whom Hall of Famer Ray Lewis recently touted as the league's best middle linebacker.

Fourth-round rookie Kenny Young is a promising stand-in with a sack in the opener and eight tackles versus Cincinnati. He lacks Mosley's experience, however, which helps explain why the middle of the field was wide open for long stretches of the game.

5. A pair of fourth-down gambles backfired on Harbaugh, costing his team a potential 56-yard field goal late in the second quarter and valuable field position in the third quarter.

 

 

 

6. Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson made an appearance for a handful of plays, rushing twice for six yards and functioning as a decoy on a few others. It's fair to question the timing and effectiveness of the plan to shoehorn Jackson's unique skill set into action as a ploy to keep defenses guessing. This was certainly an underwhelming showing for Flacco, but is it worth upsetting the veteran's rhythm when he's in a groove?

7. What a difference a year makes in the Queen City. The Bengals controlled the trenches on both sides, pushing the Ravens blockers around on defense and keeping Dalton sack-free for four quarters on offense. Their up-tempo pace also had Baltimore's defensive line tapping out from exhaustion on several occasions.

8. His 84 yards on 21 carries might not reflect a superstar performance, but Joe Mixon is emerging as one of the league's most impressive all-around backs -- as Green testified early this week. Behind a capable offensive line, Mixon has showcased a high-octane blend of power, speed, agility and receiving ability in the first two weeks. Don't be surprised if he's playing in the Pro Bowl in early February.

9. Off to a 2-0 start without suspended linebacker Vontaze Burfict, the Bengals find themselves in the driver's seat of an improved AFC North. That said, the Ravens and Stealers aren't going away. This has the early look of an especially competitive division that could come down to the season's final week before establishing a champion.

 

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The Bengals D shows how things are done in today's NFL. With all the rule changes, the most important part of any defense is the D line and the ability to harass the QB. Good QBs will get their yards. You can't cover these receivers due to contact rules and the ticky tack PI rules. What you can do is pressure the QB and try to get sacks and force them into mistakes which cause turnovers. That's why you're seeing the league pay up for pass rushers.

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7 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

4. The Ravens lost their defensive leader when Pro Bowl inside linebacker C.J. Mosley was carted to the locker room with a knee injury early in the first quarter. As it turned out, the injury is a bone bruise

Uh oh, the dreaded bone bruise.  That's a career ender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

:ninja: 

 

 

 

?

 

 

:lol: 

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I saw that article early this morning. And hot on it's heels, of course, is the National Negative Nelly piece, linked from CNN's Sports section to Bleacher Report, headline on CNN reads "Bengals Near Meltdown Shows Why They Aren't Contenders".

 

Here's the BR article:

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2795674-late-woes-proof-that-marvin-lewis-bengals-still-not-to-be-trusted-as-contenders?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral

 

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"Then came the first reminder that few teams in the NFL over the last decade-plus have been better at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory than the Marvin Lewis-led Bengals. Rather than run the ball against a Ravens team that was without inside linebacker C.J. Mosley (knee) and at least make Baltimore burn its timeouts, the Bengals dialed up three passes that took all of 13 seconds off the clock and then punted.

The Ravens, with just over a minute left in the second quarter and three timeouts in hand, drove and scored to make it 28-14 at the half.

After intermission, the Bengals had trouble getting in sync offensively. With tailback Joe Mixon sidelined for most of the third quarter with a bad knee, the Bengals had no running game to speak of. Dalton couldn't get the passing attack going either—in part because Cincinnati receivers had a case of the dropsies. After those three scores in the first half (the first three-touchdown game of his career), Green was shut out in the third quarter.

 

By the time that quarter ended, the Ravens had closed the gap to 28-17. Baltimore's first drive of the final period resulted in a touchdown that made it 28-23. The Ravens had all the momentum, and the whispers had started both at Paul Brown Stadium and on social media.

It was happening—again. The Bengals were choking—again."

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Just now, Bunghole said:

I saw that article early this morning. And hot on it's heels, of course, is the National Negative Nelly piece, linked from CNN's Sports section to Bleacher Report, headline on CNN reads "Bengals Near Meltdown Shows Why They Aren't Contenders".

 

Here's the BR article:

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2795674-late-woes-proof-that-marvin-lewis-bengals-still-not-to-be-trusted-as-contenders?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral

 

Nothing wrong with that. As Bengal fans, we want our team to stay under the radar as long as possible. We've got a lot of young players. We don't want them reading press clippings about how great they are. I like the fact that we don't have anymore prime time games this year. 

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5 minutes ago, Sea Ray said:

Nothing wrong with that. As Bengal fans, we want our team to stay under the radar as long as possible. We've got a lot of young players. We don't want them reading press clippings about how great they are. I like the fact that we don't have anymore prime time games this year. 

I'm fine with flying under the radar. I'm not fine with not giving credit where it is due. We crush the Bills in the third preseason game "Bills Must Be Worst Team In Football", no credit given to our defense or offense. Now this shit, along with the negative articles about the Colts game where it was all "Luck played great, blah blah" and zip, zilch, nada about the Bengals playing well.

 

I'm also not fine with (nothing against you) being happy about not having anymore prime time games. I WANT this team to pull out big games while everyone is watching. Those types of nationally televised games help get you ready mentally for playoff games, an area where we need VAST improvement.

 

So yeah, this is baby steps so far, but they've been convincing ones. Our squad has some great talent on it, and I want recognition for that from the press, and fear from our opponents.

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1 minute ago, Bunghole said:

I'm fine with flying under the radar. I'm not fine with not giving credit where it is due. We crush the Bills in the third preseason game "Bills Must Be Worst Team In Football", no credit given to our defense or offense. Now this shit, along with the negative articles about the Colts game where it was all "Luck played great, blah blah" and zip, zilch, nada about the Bengals playing well.

 

I'm also not fine with (nothing against you) being happy about not having anymore prime time games. I WANT this team to pull out big games while everyone is watching. Those types of nationally televised games help get you ready mentally for playoff games, an area where we need VAST improvement.

 

So yeah, this is baby steps so far, but they've been convincing ones. Our squad has some great talent on it, and I want recognition for that from the press, and fear from our opponents.

Yeah, good points. I do think it's a fact that the Bills are horrible but the Ravens gave a lot more praise for beating up on them than we did. Granted pre season and all.

 

From a coaching standpoint they'd much prefer Sunday afternoon games. Frankly the team hasn't earned primetime games with their play of late. That may change this yr. As for getting prepared for the playoffs, you may get your wish. I'm guessing our last two games will be highly considered for flex to Sunday night.

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ESPN had a spot on whether the Bengals should be considered the favorite to win the division, and generally could they unseat the Stealers.

 

The consensus was NO.  Their key point was that there's pretty much NO easier game to win than a short week game at home.  Huge advantage for the home team.

 

I'm not sure about all that, but I agree it helps.

 

YMMV

 

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49 minutes ago, CinciFan said:

ESPN had a spot on whether the Bengals should be considered the favorite to win the division, and generally could they unseat the Stealers.

 

The consensus was NO.  Their key point was that there's pretty much NO easier game to win than a short week game at home.  Huge advantage for the home team.

 

I'm not sure about all that, but I agree it helps.

 

YMMV

 

And you didn't see that coming from ESPN? It was never meant to be taken seriously. It was a dumb question anyway. Predictions based on two games.

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15 hours ago, CinciFan said:

ESPN had a spot on whether the Bengals should be considered the favorite to win the division, and generally could they unseat the Stealers.

 

The consensus was NO.  Their key point was that there's pretty much NO easier game to win than a short week game at home.  Huge advantage for the home team.

 

I'm not sure about all that, but I agree it helps.

 

YMMV

 

Can't be easy. They're a dreadful team that sucks in primetime no?

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