Matt’s Take
Even after a five touchdown performance and a 17-point victory, Joe Burrow was visually frustrated on the sidelines and that is simply because he demands perfection. While he had one of the most impressive games of his career, the pick-six, dropped passes from Ja’Marr Chase and some miscommunication on the line turned into Burrow frustrated on the sideline. That should make everyone reading this ecstatic, as the Bengals have a leader who wants to win, wants to play the right way and demands excellence from everyone on the field. Wins are hard to come by in the NFL, so let’s enjoy this victory for now before the Bengals take on the Ravens in an absolute must-win game on Thursday.
Positives
· The leader in sacks in the NFL is Cincinnati’s own Trey Hendrickson (11). He had four sacks, seven quarterback hits, and a forced fumble on Sunday against the Raiders. Imagine if we had someone else alongside him who could give pressure from the opposite end.
· Five passing touchdowns for the second time this season for Joe Burrow. Somehow, none of those on Sunday were to Ja’Marr Chase, which is even more impressive. No other quarterback in the NFL has five passing touchdowns in a game this season.
· Logan Wilson had two fumble recoveries, nine total tackles, and was all over the field as usual for Cincinnati.
· A career day for Chase Brown, as he racked up 120 rush yards, 37 receiving yards, and a touchdown. It’s safe to say that he should be RB1 moving forward.
· Mike Gesicki had himself a day. The griddy came to life, as he reeled in five receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns. With Higgins out, Gesicki fills in quite nicely.
Negatives
· With Charlie Jones out, it was rough watching Kendric Pryor and Trenton Irwin try to return the ball. That won’t work going forward.
· I’m ready for Cincinnati to cut Jermaine Burton now. You show up in pajamas after missing the walk-through the day before? He’s not salvageable. He’ll be without a job in the near future with that attitude. This isn’t college, he is a grown man. Time to treat him as such and get rid of him.
· Andre Iosivas missed a few catches and missed a crucial block that resulted in a pick-six. When Higgins is out, the Bengals are in desperate need of a true fill-in WR2.
· Injuries to Eric All Jr., Tee Higgins, BJ Hill, OrlandoBrown Jr., Charlie Jones, Zach Moss, and Jay Tufele are all detrimental to this team. Cincinnati needs to get healthy fast before heading to Baltimore.
Trade
Want to show the fans you’re serious about contending right now? Make a trade. Go find a cornerback and an edge rusher. Who am I kidding though? The Bengals have only made two in-season trades in 52 years. That’s baffling. Maybe Joe Burrow has changed the mindset of this front office and maybe they realize that he isn’t getting any younger. If they would fire off a couple trades and try to make a run for it, I think we would be able to hear the tears from CarsonPalmer hitting the floor all the way in Adams County, Ohio. I won’t pretend to know what the Bengals would offer and I won’t even put together a mock trade, but I do hope to see Cincinnati do something, as this defense is not currently a Super Bowl caliber defense.
Go beat the Ravens and get the city excited again, Who Dey!