Five Winners from Bengals' 17-13 victory over Seahawks
The bye week feels a lot longer when a bad loss kickstarts it. The Cincinnati Bengals will humbly accept a tough win over one of the more well-rounded teams in the Seattle Seahawks. Much like their first win at home this year, the Bengals' pass rush came alive at the right times and sparked several […]
The bye week feels a lot longer when a bad loss kickstarts it. The Cincinnati Bengals will humbly accept a tough win over one of the more well-rounded teams in the Seattle Seahawks.
Much like their first win at home this year, the Bengals' pass rush came alive at the right times and sparked several clutch moments while the offense had struggles finding success.
For obvious reasons, the defense will have several winners from Cincinnati's 17-13 victory over Seattle.
Five Winners From Bengals' Win Over Seahawks
CB Cam Taylor-Britt
Not very many defenses have a cornerback physically capable of pestering DK Metcalf for four quarters. Taylor-Britt was assigned to follow the giga-receiver for this precise reason.
Metcalf caught just four of his 10 targets for 69 yards as he got a 30-yard catch on Taylor-Britt. The second-year cornerback won pretty much every other battle, so much to the point Metcalf expressed clear frustration and got flagged for it once.
Seven solo tackles, three passes defensed against both Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, all of equal impressiveness, and a diving interception. Not a bad way to celebrate your 24th birthday.
WR Andrei Iosivas
Speaking of 24th birthdays, Iosivas got the best gift imaginable on top of a win. His third-ever target and second-ever catch went for six as he was the recipient of Cincinnati's second and last touchdown of the day. The play action call was designed to feature his route, and with a little improv off script, Iosivas added a huge item to his career accomplishments.
Amid the delay from a defensive penalty and the eventual rush of celebration, Iosivas forgot to keep his first career touchdown game ball. Fortunately, Joe Burrow scooped it up for him. He's a winner for nothing else but having that ball for the rest of his life now.
DL Cam Sample & Sam Hubbard
A commendable outing from most of the defensive line has these two in the spotlight for good reason. Hubbard ended up with five hits on quarterback Geno Smith and a fourth down sack that ended the first of two red zone trips for Seattle in the final minutes of the game. He got in there again on the last drive along with B.J. Hill to end the game for good.
While Hubbard clocked in nine pressures of varying difficulty, Sample had a three clear wins of high quality rushing from in-between the tackles. His second sack of the season was what ended the first half, and he added a couple wins on third down to boot. For a team that desperately needs pass rush juice at defensive tackle, sliding Sample inside feels like the best way to fill that vacancy.
DC Lou Anarumo
Uncharacteristic issues looked to be the story for Anarumo’s defense following the game’s opening drive. The Seahawks drove the ball down the field with ease, taking up over seven minutes and a 7-0 lead to set an early tone. The Seahawks scored just twice, both field goals, on their final 10 possessions of the day. They committed twice as many turnovers, two by interceptions and two by downs.
This wasn't some run-of-the-mill offense, either. The Seahawks entered the week seventh in EPA/play and fourth in success rate. They were a clear mismatch for a maligned Bengals' defense on paper. Anarumo's calls following a rough first drive proved that the numbers still can't tell the full story of this unit yet.
Per usual, there are more than five golden stars to give out here. Look no further than the slot on both sides of the ball.
Five of Tyler Boyd's seven targets produced positive results for the Bengals' offense, none more than his first official touchdown since Week 15 of last season (he caught one in the canceled Bills game in Week 17). Boyd rarely sees the ball come his way beyond 10 yards anymore, but he remains effective with his niche.
Boyd can still find the end zone, and Mike Hilton can still catch passes as well. He snagged a red zone interception for his first takeaway since the end of last season. Throw in a few tackles close to and behind the line of scrimmage, and you get a performance worthy of appraisal.
How about the box score Logan Wilson put together? Nine solo tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, and a QB hit.
No matter the outcome, you can expect solid games from both Trey Hendrickson and Ja'Marr Chase, each of whom has a case for being the team's most consistent player. Hendrickson's sack took the Seahawks back 12 yards on the same drive Hubbard ended with his sack and added six more pressures to boot. Chase carried the passing offense with 80 yards on six receptions. You simply expect more when he has 13 targets, but the issues didn't seem to be stemming from his play.
Joe Burrow tells it like it is following Bengals’ close win over Seahawks
A win is a win, but there’s much work to be done.
