Week 1 Bengals Recap by Position
Joe Burrow
To start the Bengals 2021-22 season all eyes were going to be on the Bengals young quarterback, better yet his left knee. The Bengals had a clear plan to ease Burrow into the game. For the Bengals first drive Burrow only attempted 3 passes that barely went past the line of scrimmage. Each one of the throws seemed to be heavily scripted. With Burrow only throwing 1 pass in the preseason this is understandable. Burrow ended the first quarter going 3 for 5 with 15 yards. The longest pass was a dump off to Perine for a gain of 7. After the first quarter things were looking a little problematic for Zac Taylors play calling and Burrows confidence. We also witnessed the first sack on Burrow that had some twisting motion to it. But Burrow came up with no issues. The first quarter was a little bleak for Burrow.
The second quarter is where Burrow got his groove. Burrow went 8/8 for 119 yards. The reports from camp started to show up, with Burrow commanding the offense. You can watch numerous plays where Burrow is calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, pointing out blitzers, and using a hard count. On the first drive of the second quarter, Burrow pulls his best Aaron Rodgers impression and uses the hard count. This leads to a free play where Burrow throws the ball downfield to Higgins for a defensive pass interference and the ball on the 3 yard line. What was impressive about the play wasn’t the hard count but the fact that Burrow understood that he had a free play and he should throw it to give his guy a chance. For years it seems that a Bengals quarterback would be content for a 5 yard gain and not pushing the ball down field. This play allowed the Bengals to have a 1st and goal and covert an easy TD.
On the second drive of the quarter the Bengals started on their own 25 yard line with 1:11 on the clock with no timeouts. The pre Joe Burrow Bengals would take 2 knees and go into halftime tied 7 to 7. But what makes Burrow different is the Bengals can go 75 yards in 71 seconds. There is no longer a wave the flag mentality. On this drive Burrow goes 4/4 for 77 yards. That stat line alone is enough to hang your hat on, but there are so many hidden things when you rewatch where you see the development of Burrow. The last and most important play of the drive shows Burrows growth. Presnap Burrow dissects the Vikings defense and makes an audible. The next thing he does is point out Eric Kendricks on the Vikings who has beaten the interior offensive line with a previous blitz. This helped his struggling interior offensive line to give him enough time to let the play develop. Burrow hikes the ball and throws a beautiful 50 yard pass to Chase’s back shoulder for a TD. The things to note on this play, is the pre snap recognition, helping his teammates, and the arm strength. The TD pass to Chase was the pass in Burrow's NFL career. This was the part of the Bengals offense that was non-existent last year.
The third quarter saw Burrow going 5 for 6 with 66 yards. Burrow leads the Bengals out of halftime with a 75 yard TD drive. Burrow throws for 51 of the 75 yards. There were two bad passes from Burrow here. The first one was on a bootleg pass from Burrow where he overthrew the wide open Thomas, that would have been an easy TD. The next bad throw was right after where Burrow threw the ball behind Boyd and hit a Vikings defender, luckily the play ended with a Boyd reception. At the end of the day Burrow led the Bengals the length of the field and took them up 21-7. The remainder of the third quarter and the entirety of fourth quarter were strange for Burrow. The Bengals only had him throwing the ball four times going 2 for 4 for 33 yards. It seemed like the Bengals went away from a balanced attack to a full rushing attack to run out the clock.
Overtime we saw the same thing as all of the fourth quarter. In the first two overtime drives Burrow only threw the ball twice going 1 for 2 for 5 yards. It wasn't till the last drive of the game that the Bengals and Burrow went back on attack mode. Where Burrow went 2 for 2 for 38 yards. With maybe the most important play of the game, a Burrow audible at the line of scrimmage and then a 32 yard pass to CJ Uzomah on 4th and inches to set up the game winning field goal.
Joe Mixon
Joe Mixon was saying all offseason how he was ready to be the guy in Cincinnati. The Bengals followed suit with cutting veteran and captain Giovanni Bernard. Some could say there were questions if Mixon could do it. The box score would say he can do it. Going for 127 yards rushing, with 150 total yards. The crazy part of Mixons performance was that 61% of his yards came after contact. The highest in the NFL. There were numerous plays where a teammate missed a block and Mixon would make that man miss to have a positive play. The main thing that popped for me was the C on his jersey and how it showed up. Mixon used to have the worst body language. Showing how annoyed he was to come off the field, sometimes sulking on the sidelines. Now you see Mixon cheering teammates, not showing his frustration, and trying to pump the crowd up for the defense. You can start to see a shift in Mixon to show that there is another leader on this offense.
The things I would love for Mixon to improve on was the pass blocking. Sometimes Mixon would miss a block and it led to a Burrow sack. The main thing for this team this year is to keep number 9 upright and healthy. The main reason the Bengals kept Gio for so long was for pass protection. I would love to see Mixon step up with this a bit and help the team out even further.
Ja’marr Chase
Well the drops weren’t an issue. Chase showed up for his NFL debut. Chase ended the game with 5 catches, 101 yards and a TD. He led the Bengals in every receiving stat as well as snaps. Chase was brought in to replace the aging AJ Green, and I believe Chase already proven that he is the man for the job. Ja’marr’s week 1 performance was better than any game AJ Green had in 2020. If you take AJ Green 104 targets last year and project Chase off his week 1 performance, Chase will project to be a 1400 yard receiver.
Tee Higgins
The reports on Higgins are correct, he looks bigger and faster. Higgins ended the game with 4 catches for 58 yards and a TD. What didn't show up was Higgins drawing a defensive pass interference. Higgins did miss 11 snaps with cramping so that did hurt his production. Higgins is still in line to be a 1000 yard receiver and a true threat in the passing game.
Tyler Boyd
The longest tenured Bengals receiver didn’t have a lot of production on the field. He finished with 3 catches and 32 yards. Two of the catches from Boyd you witnessed some great routes that helped Burrow out. The bad news is there were two plays that really stuck out from Boyd in the run game. A couple of times you could see Boyd being very laxed in blocking and ended up causing the play to fail. Being named a team captain this year you would hope for more from him. Game script changes each week and I believe this may be Boyd’s worst game of the year.
CJ Uzomah
CJ Uzomah took a majority of the TE snaps. What you really noticed was the effect Uzomah had in the run game. There were plenty of plays where Uzomah was willing and looking to block someone. Uzomah also received the second best pass blocking grade on the team. The difference between Uzomah and Sample was extremely noticeable for the Bengals. Uzomah also finished the game with 2 catches for 35 yards. He had the first and last reception of the game.
Drew Sample
Drew Sample looked unplayable in his 35 snaps. Sample was responsible for 2 or 3 of the 5 sacks on Burrow. There were also numerous plays Sample could lose his 1 on 1 block in the run game as well. With 0 catches I wonder why Sample sees the playing field. Drew Sample is looking to be the worst draft pick in the Zac Taylor offense.
Interior Offensive Line
Quinton Spain had a game of two tails. Spain looked like an absolute road grader in the run game. You can see a lot of plays where Mixon was able to perfectly follow Spain, somethinges he would block two defenders on the same play. In the passing game there were times Spain looked a little lost on who to block. This was the trend with both guards and the center. There would be times when Spain and Jonah Williams looked completely in unison. But others where he and Hopkins looked lost together .
Trey Hopkins had the worst performance of any Bengal on Sunday. Hopkins was responsible for 2 if not 4 of the Bengals sacks. He would lose on the point of attack and he looked like a college level player playing in the NFL. On run plays you can watch the offensive line fire off as a unit with 4 of the 5 being 3 yards down field, with Hopkins being blown back a yard behind the line of scrimmage. I understand the Bengals got a good player in the Billy Price trade. I just find it really hard to find a way where Billy Price would have been worse than Trey Hopkins' performance for this game. I really hope this is just rust coming off the injury.
Xavier Su’a-filo was easily the second worst offensive linemen and looked like a clear backup. Su’a-filo on a lot of plays can be seen wandering around with on idea on who to block. I expect one of the two rookies to take this spot in the next 4 to 5 games. If D’Ante Smith or Jackson Camdan can’t take this spot by the end of the season. I would be losing a lot of faith in the two rookies' futures.
Tackles
With the addition of Frank Pollak came the wisdom of Frank Pollak. Ever since the Bengals have drafted Jonah Williams I thought that he was too small. He looked like a guard playing tackle. Yes he was quick, but a simple bullrush would knock him back. Pollak this offseason told Williams to add weight this offseason and boy did it work. Jonah Williams looked like an anchor on the left side of the line. Earning the second best pass blocking grade and the best running grade. The Bengals looked to run behind the big athletic tackle all game. I don’t see anything changing with this soon either.
The wise old Veteran the Bengals added this offseason was a stark contrast to the old in Bobby Hart. Riley Reiff was consistent and steady. You never heard the announcer call his name and I think all Bengals fans rejoiced in hearing that. Bobby Hart last year gave up 10 sacks himself. I would be shocked if Riley Reiff even gets to 3 this year. Rieff was the best pass blocking linemen from this game and was okay in the run. I think the poor grade for Rieff run blocking might have been more to do with Su’a-filo and Sample blocking beside him.
Bengals Defense
Going into this game I believed that the Minnesota Vikings would run all over the Bengals defense. Over the past two years the Bengals have ranked 29th and 32nd in defending the run. So when Dalvin Cook and the Minnesota Vikings come into town you think they should be able to run all over the team. In 2020 Dalvin Cook averaged 22 Attempts for 111 yards and averaged 5 yards per carry. If you thought the Cook stats were impressive, the Bengals allowed more yards per game then Cook had for 2020. The Bengals ended up limiting Cook to 20 attempts for 61 yards and averaged 3.1 per carry. This was one of the many reasons the Bengals defense looked like a winning bunch on Sunday.
The other reason the Bengals defense succeeded was the pass rush. The Bengals in 2020 recorded only 17 sacks in 16 games. The Bengals in their first game of the season had 3 sacks. The stat line of the sacks pops off the stat sheet. But when rewatching the film the Vikings offensive line was called on 6 sack saving holds. The Bengals defensive line was also in the Vikings offensive line's heads. The Vikings had four illegal formations called against them. The left tackle was caught cheating by not lining up on the line of scrimmage since he was nervous with Try Hendrickson’s speed. As a Bengals fan, if you think it’s going to be the same old Bengals defense, You will end up being surprised by the end of the year.
Defensive Line
The Bengals have a real defensive line this year. I believe the loss of Joseph Ossai keeps it from being an elite defensive line. The Bengals for a majority of the game had 5 defensive linemen on the field. I believe we will see a lot of that for all AFC North teams, and the next week matchup of the Bears. The Bengals were unbelievably porous against the run last year and I think the Defensive Line will be the solution this year.
The Bengals Dline is going to be anchored by Larry Ogunjobi and DJ Reader who after week 1 will be a problem for opposing teams. The two starting DT accounted for 1 sack and 5 holding penalties. Any team that has a quarterback that struggles in the pocket will struggle with these two knifing through the interior offensive line. The two starting DT played about 60% of the plays, and the backups didn't disappoint. BJ Hill and Josh Tupou looked like capable starters. There was a slight regression in the run defense, but they didn’t skip a beat when it came to the pass rush. Currently it is looking like the Bengals fleeced the Giants with the Billy Price trade, as BJ Hill has already had two sacks.
The two starting Defensive Ends are going to be crucial for the Bengals. The Bengals clearly want their ends to do three things; rush the passer, defend the run, and play in coverage. Almost 10% of the snaps had a DE dropping into the flat. Mostly defending dump offs to running backs and defending against quarterback scrambles. Trey Hendrickson had a pretty good Bengals debut. He forced a holding call and was in the Vikings LT head. Sam Hubbard played an okay game. He came alive at the end of the game, and I think that's Hubbards play style. Hubbards conditioning is always high and I think that’s how he succeeds at the NFL level. Not having Ossai and Kareem was felt. But the Bengals sneakily put Germaine Pratt in that role, something to watch as the season develops.
Linebackers
There were only two linebackers that really saw the field. Logan Wilson played 72 of 83 snaps, and Germain Pratt with 37 snaps. Akeem Davis-Gaither (ADG) and Jordan Evans each rounded out the group with 16 snaps.
To me Logan Wilson’s gameplay was a bit concerning. I don’t think I have seen a more timid middle linebacker. Logan Wilson in the run game looked like a scared corner getting caught in the scrum. The Bengals linebackers will only succeed if Logan Wilson succeeds. Wilson was okay in coverage he was fluid in his movement, he just looks like he doesn’t understand the skeem fully. Wilson being lost was my main concern, he was caught looking back to Bates and Bell on what to do on a couple of plays.
Germain Pratt took a step up this year. On obvious passing downs Pratt will come off the field. When he did play, Lou Anarumo had Pratt all over the field. He lined up as a defensive end, and played in his primary linebacker setup. Pratt was instinctive on almost every play. The main gripe I have with Pratt is he tends to get caught over pursuing, and fails to use proper tackling form. With that being said there seems to be some real development from Pratt.
ADG played sparingly but when he did he played well. I really hope ADG will be given more playing time in passing downs. He has super fluid hips and was draped over TE and RB’s all game. When the Bengals play more pass happy teams ADG will have to play more and we will have to see how his season progresses
Corners
The Bengals started week 1 with three new Bengals. There were two players that played pretty well and there was one who played awfully. Chidobe was called on the most. He played every snap and was asked to guard two very shifty receivers. The play that beat all three Bengals corners was the quick slant. I struggled to figure out if it was the linebackers not guarding the middle of the field, or will the corners struggle with slants all season.
Mike Hilton lost on the same route all game as Chidobe did, the quick slan. What Mike Hilton did extremely well was rushing the passer. Hilton was so shifty and you have to rewatch the play to see it. He looks like a tiger slowly hunting its prey. When watching games in the future I would suggest watching number 21 to watch him work.
Eli Apple was so awful in week 1. He was unplayable, and is a liability to this team. Trae Waynes needs to get healthy ASAP.
Safety
I am going to talk about both Bengals safeties as a unit. Bates and Bell played every snap (except 1 for Bates). You can see the two leading the whole defense. Players numerous times were looking to the two of them to figure out what to do during audibles. Bell was called up to play linebacker almost half the game. Bell looks to be a hybrid player and will rarely line up in a similar way each game. The Bengals seem to run an offset safety formation. I think you will rarely see both safeties lineup side by side. Bell will clearly be used more in the run, with the ball hawking Bates hawking the back line. Both players led by example. They led by always being in position and by physicality. After week 1 it is obvious that these two will be the heartbeat of the Bengals defense.
