With their triumph over the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals have registered their second consecutive victory. Below are the key players who stood out in the 21-14 victory of the Bengals over the Browns who were the traveling team from Ohio.
Winners
Lou Anarumo:
The maligned veteran defensive coordinator has seen his unit make great strides over the past few weeks. Giving up just three total touchdowns (one in garbage time) in two straight road games is the stuff we’ve been looking for this entire year. The cynics will point to Daniel Jones, a struggling (and now injured) Deshaun Watson, and backup Dorian Thompson-Robinson, but you only play who’s in front of you, and Anarumo’s group is taking care of business of late.
Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins:
“The Masters of YAC” struck again this week, with both Higgins and Chase taking shorter balls for big gains and/or using great body position to make the play. Higgins took a slant in the third quarter to the house that began to put the game out of reach.
“The Edge Crew”:
Trey Hendrickson continues to be a menace, putting up multiple pressures, two sacks, and two tipped passes—one of which led to an interception. Sam Hubbard had a sack and the interception, and we even saw Myles Murphy have a pass defended.
Charlie Jones:
We’ve been waiting for that big play from the second-year return man, and boy, did he deliver on Sunday. He had the Bengals’ very first team touchdown of 2023 with a Week 2 punt return for a score against Baltimore and then sparked the win with a game-opening, 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow:
While the offensive output hasn’t been great the past couple of games (both wins, ironically), the team needed the past two wins, and despite imperfections, they grabbed them. This one against the Browns was an especially big dragon that was slayed, as Burrow hadn’t won in Cleveland as a pro, and the team hadn’t won there since 2017. And, while Burrow didn’t put up the gaudy numbers of prior weeks, he played turnover-less football again.
Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson:
The key to the win was to stop any kind of productivity from Nick Chubb, who made his triumphant return to the field after suffering a Week 2 knee injury last year. Pratt and Wilson were everywhere on Sunday, racking up more total tackles (23) than Chubb had rushing yards (22).
Losers
The run game—particularly Zack Moss:
The Bengals just aren’t finding the balance they had a few weeks ago. Chase Brown has had moments of explosiveness, but the duo of him and Moss combined for 2.38 yards per carry on Sunday. It was a particularly hard day for Moss, who had six carries for seven yards.
The tight ends:
Aside from the admirable dirty work done by Drew Sample and Erick All as run blockers, the overall productivity has to be recaptured by this group. The group composed of those two, Mike Gesicki and Tanner Hudson nabbed just one catch for two yards on four targets. Throw in the lack of movement in the run game, and things have to improve.