Peculiar trend is forming as Bengals' win streak continues
Four the fourth straight game, the Cincinnati Bengals came out of the tunnel firing and provided just enough of a cushion to hold on to a victory. The Bengals held off the Buffalo Bills for a 24-18 win, making it four wins in a row following a 1-3 start. Joe Burrow had a quintessential Joe […]
Four the fourth straight game, the Cincinnati Bengals came out of the tunnel firing and provided just enough of a cushion to hold on to a victory. The Bengals held off the Buffalo Bills for a 24-18 win, making it four wins in a row following a 1-3 start.
Joe Burrow had a quintessential Joe Burrow game, throwing for 348 yards and two touchdowns while completing 31 of 44 attempts, and Lou Anarumo's defense got another game-changing moment from linebacker Germaine Pratt with his third quarter forced fumble deep in their own red zone.
The Bengals have successfully kept pace with a red-hot AFC North, but despite the winning streak, a trend needs to be bucked for the Bengals' offense.
The story of the last four games for Cincinnati? Starting fast. Seven touchdowns and a field goal have been the result of the Bengals' opening two drives in every game going back to Week 5.
Irv Smith Jr. answered the bell with the opening drive, catching a dime from Burrow in the back corner of the end zone. Joe Mixon followed suit with a goal line rushing touchdown to keep the pressure on Josh Allen and the Bills' offense.
A stark dichotomy exists the third and fourth drives of the past four games. The Bengals have now punted six times, missed a field goal, and fumbled the ball away in those eight specific drives from the last four games, with two punts coming tonight.
Look no further than penalties as the culprit for Sunday night. A false start turned a third-and-3 into a third-and-8 that wasn't converted on drive No. 3, and two pre-snap infractions and two holding flags took the Bengals out of field goal range on drive No. 4.
The miscues continued for the meat of the game following a seven-play touchdown drive in which Drew Sample (what a night for maligned tight ends!) found the end zone for the first time in three years. Six penalties for the home team playing under the lights is an oddity, especially with a good portion of them coming before the snap.
And the flags that actuallt happen aren't where the story ends, Cincinnati had to use all three of its second half timeouts due to struggles getting out of the huddle and making checks at the line in time.
Thankfully, they didn't need them, but there will be weeks where they will.
It's an obvious positive that Burrow looks like himself, and Tee Higgins returning to his usual form is especially promising. Higgins led the team in receiving with 110 yards on eight catches. And how about those tight ends! Smith and Sample's touchdowns complemented Tanner Hudson's 45 yards on four grabs. That production will be needed as the season progresses.
All of this coming together should result in a more consistent unit that avoids lulls following the opening script, but they're clearly not there just yet. The next level will be found when this trend is bucked, and fewer points are left on the board.
Bengals have more riding on Week 9 than any other NFL team
Playoff implications are already very high this week.
