Bengals barely win in Denver
The Cincinnati Bengals had a successful weekend after losing three of their last four games. The Bengals traveled to Denver and eeked out a win against a struggling Broncos team who later benched their second quarterback of the season and fired their offensive coordinator, after generating only 17 points on Sunday.
The Bengals, on the other hand, weren’t solidly impressive either. Their 20-17 victory was marred with a missed field goal, and a 100-yard interception return by Dre Kirkpatrick, which was nearly lost near the goal line, as the corner oddly lost control of and bobbled the football while sprinting in the open field.
The Bengals best offensive weapon continues to be WR A.J. Green who came down with a touchdown against a Broncos secondary allowing a 113.0 QB rating against opponents. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton had a 117.3 QB rating for the day, but only attempted 25 passes: of those, nine attempts went toward Green, who only caught four.
The Bengals passing game sputtered while their run game is almost non-existent. Running back Jeremy Hill was placed on IR earlier in the week, opting for surgery that would end his season. The move opened the way for rookie running back Joe Mixon, who ran for 49 yards on 20 carries; a horrific 2.45 average.
The Bengals defense did just enough, in a game where they were dominated in time of possession (35:11 to 24:49) and net yards (341 to 190). The Broncos ran 79 offensive plays to the Bengals 53, and converted 12-of-21 third downs, but turned the ball over twice, once on downs and another on the aforementioned interception.
Even with a weak win, Cincinnati rolls into next weekend with momentum against a 0-10 Cleveland Browns team at home. With a victory, the Bengals could inch closer to .500 football. They currently hold third place in the AFC North with a 4-6 record, well behind the first place 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the Baltimore Ravens currently maintain a 5-5 record, with the Bengals looking around the league at other teams a game or two below .500 vouching for the conference’s two Wild Card spots.
However, a few more big dates loom on the horizon, including a Monday night showdown with the Steelers and a road trip to face the Vikings. If Cincy can pull it off, they could be in the playoff conversation heading toward the end of December.
