Week 11:”"Every game is going to be played a certain way, and we knew this was a game where we were going to have to run the football” -Taylor
For the first time in five years the Bengals won coming out of a bye. They allowed their offensive line to get aggressive and let Joe Mixon run the ball. That coupled with the Bengals defense winning the turnover battle, the Bengals left Vegas with a win and a 6-4 record. The win moved the Bengals to the 5th spot in the AFC and in the playoff spot. The Bengals still have 7 games left and a difficult stretch. With this tough stretch we will know who this team really is by the end of the season. The question is how will they handle adversity and how will they play against these teams.
After a shaky first half from the offense, the game plan changed and the Bengals may have shifted their offensive identity for the rest of the season. In the first half the Bengals had 5 drives that ended in 10 points, and only averaged 29 yards per drive. Joe Burrow looked a little out of sorts and started to force passes to Chase and Higgins. With their one TD drive in the first half being benefited by 2 defensive penalties. But as a Bengals fan this is what to expect, the offense lacks creativity and everything seems so rigid. Luckily the Bengals experienced halftime and came out with 5 drives where they scored on every drive. They scored 23 points and averaged 46.5 yards (excluding the final drive used to kill the clock). Burrow still looked shaky in the second half but what changed was the offensive line and Joe Mixon. The offensive line started to dominate upfront for what seems like the first time all season. The line looked like Moses and opened up the field for Joe Mixon who may have been tackled more by slipping on the field more than the Raiders Defense. The Bengals offense shifted from a flashy explosive offense, to a nasty demoralizing offense. Three players had moments that really showed the attitude shift. All three of these plays are blocks and blocks that you can be excited about. The first block came from Stanley Morgan with 4:15 left in the second quarter. Morgan made a beautiful block on the outside and sprung Mixon for 11 yards and a TD. For fans who wonder why Stanley Morgan has taken snaps from Mike Thomas and Auden Tate, this is all you need to see. Morgan’s snap count has gone up every week and plays like this is the reason why. The second major block was from a team captain and maybe the most important receiver on the Bengals roster, Tyler Boyd. Boyd had to block the defensive end to allow Riley Reiff to pull and block on the second level. Boyd took on Carl Nassib from the Raiders who outweighs Boyd by 75 points. Boyd stuck with his block and turned Nassib away from the play allowing Mixon to run free. This was the least highlight level block but the biggest mentality shift from this team. The last block came from Quinten Spain with 14:07 left in the fourth quarter. On a screenplay Spain leads the charge and flattens Jonathan Abrams from the Raiders. This was the most impressive block of the day and may personify the Bengals new mentality. This new attitude shift allowed Mixon to rush 30 times for 123 yards and 2 TD.
The Bengals defense seemed to take the same mentality as the Bengals offense and tried to control the line of scrimmage. Limiting the Raiders offense to only 72 yards rushing, the sixth time this season the opposing team has been held to under 100 yards rushing. The success against the run seems to be tied to the Bengals ability to tackle. With 10 games under their belt every Bengals win comes with a missed tackle rate under 10%. Against the Raiders the Bengals had a missed tackle rate of under 10 with only 5 missed tackles. When the Bengals stars shine the Bengals defense looks unstoppable. Sam Hubbard played out of his mind and is the heartbeat of this defense. When you watch the next Bengals game just watch number 94 and watch how much effort he puts in every play. Hubbard paired with Hendrickson totaled 2 sacks for the Bengals and their play will be vital for the Bengals down the stretch. The pass rush with solid play from the cornerbacks gave the Raiders fits all game. If the Bengals linebackers can clean up some problems in coverage and the rushing game the Bengals defense can be dominant.
With 7 games left the Bengals have their biggest rival coming into town. The Steelers come in at 5-4-1 with some shaky games under their belt. But much improved from the previous showing where the Bengals beat the Steelers 24-10 in week 3. If the Bengals are looking to win this game they need to get back to their ways and control both lines of scrimmage. Control the line of scrimmage and the Bengals should be able to win 31-17.
