Week 3 “Win your division. That's what our mentality has to be”
The Bengals came into Pittsburgh looking for their first win in the Steel City in over 5 years. This should be no shock to Bengals fans as their team has struggled away from Paul Brown Stadium. Under Zac Taylor the Bengals struggles haven't changed, with only 1 away win in a little over 2 seasons. But as every year rolls around an optimistic outlook needs to be used. The Bengals were sitting in a 4 way tie for the division, this game was pivotal for the Bengals young season. A win puts them atop the division, and a loss puts them in last place. As we know now, the Bengals sit atop the division after crushing their division rival.
The Bengals won with something different than they usually do and it came in the form of a competitive mentality. That mentality is to win the division, and boy did you feel it. From the first snap of the game you felt a different level of physicality from the Bengals. You had guys playing with a moxy you normally don't see. This started with the Bengals defensive line who was dominant all game. DJ Reader and Larry Ogunjobi were seen in the Steelers backfield all game. They limited the Steelers lead back to only 40 yards on the ground, and sacked Roethlisberger 4 times. The Bengals starting DT’s might have a legitimate chance of being Pro Bowlers this season. You heard it here first.
The next group that really showed up was the Bengals secondary minus Eli Apple. There was a savagery feeling from the Bengals backline, they played inspired and were attacking any Steelers ball carriers. Maybe it was the speech Mike Hilton gave his fellow teammates before the game. Regardless of what it was, watching this group fly all over the field gave me goosebumps as a lifelong Bengals fan. I had legitimate confidence that the tackle would be made every play. Which was so nice after having to watch the likes of Dre Kirkpatrick and William Jackson III who were notorious for missing tackles. The current Bengals secondary are trying to create the nickname of Cleanup Crew for themselves. That should be all the proof of the mentality switch this unit has had.
The real play that changed the feeling of the game was with 2:54 left in the 1st quarter. Tyler Boyd caught a pass from Joe Burrow and lowered his shoulder on the 10 yard line. Boyd was met by Melvin Ingram who is 50lbs heavier than Boyd, and Boyd won. After the collision Boyd was able to run in for a TD. At this point in the game the Bengals went up 7-0 and never looked back. Boyd is probably the least exciting Bengals receiver this year, but I fully expect him to be the heartbeat of this offense. If Boyd goes, this team will follow.
For the first time in a long time in a long time it felt like the Bengals had won the game in the middle of the 3rd quarter. It seemed there was no way the Steelers were coming back. From Joe Mixon's dominant runs to the explosive plays from Ja’Marr Chase it was a wonderful time to be a Bengals fan. The Bengals offense went from an offense that can keep up, to an offense that can get ahead and stay ahead. Fans need to realize that this team can score in 30 seconds.
Up next the Bengals have an interesting 6 weeks before their Week 10 bye. Currently they are sitting at 2-1, if the Bengals can get to 6-3 at the break they will be ripe for a playoff spot. The problem is they have Packers, @ Ravens, and Browns in that stretch. Hopefully they take care of business on Thursday against the Jaguars and move on to the Packers healthy and hungry for more.
