Great. Incredible. Fantastic. Phenomenal. Awesome.
Outstanding. Amazing. These are just a few of the many words that can be used
to describe the way the Cincinnati Bengals performed Sunday afternoon.
After a horrendous and embarrassing loss to the Cleveland
Browns in what was the worst outing the Bengals had in a game this entire
season, the men in the black and orange stripes rebounded and had one of their
best games this year as they beat the New Orleans Saints by a score of 27-10.
This was a huge victory for the Bengals, and after the
Thursday Night Football debacle, many Bengals fans, including myself, thought of
this as a must win game as a loss could have put in motion a downward spiral
for the team. Fortunately that was not the case as the Bengals bounced back big
and silenced the Saints and the Superdome.
The game did not start out ideally for the Bengals as a
combination of sloppy defensive play, penalties, and good plays by the Saints
allowed New Orleans to grab an early 3-0 lead. The Bengals responded with an
incredible offensive drive that was capped off with a play that was both
bizarre and scary as Jermaine Gresham caught a pass from Andy Dalton and tried
to extend his arm across the goal line for the touchdown while simultaneously
attempting to break a tackle. The ball was then knocked out of his hand as he
fell to the ground. A mad scramble for the fumbled ball ensued. Gresham ended
up kicking the ball into the end zone and recovered it for a touchdown to give
the Bengals a 7-3 lead.
After that, the Bengals never looked back as the defense
rebounded nicely and held the Saints scoreless for the rest of the half and the
offense added a pair of field goals, including one to end the second quarter
after Jeremy Hill reeled off a huge 62-yard run, to give the Bengals
a 13-3 lead.
In the second half, the Bengals offense added 14 more points
as Jermaine Gresham and A.J. Green hauled in passes from Dalton for touchdowns.
The defense allowed just one touchdown to the Saints and essentially stifled
Drew Brees and his arsenal of offensive weapons as well as the Superdome crowd.
Fans of the Saints are known for making the Superdome not only loud but also
difficult for visiting offenses to make play calls. That was not the case today
as the great play by both the defense and the offense of the Bengals turned the
home of the Saints into a literal home of saints as the stadium was as quiet as
a church for most of the game.
Overall, this was one of the best performances turned in by
the Bengals all year, and it was reminiscent of the way they played during the
first three weeks of the season. The defense played well, and the offense was
balanced with its attack as the running game produced 186 yards and the passing
game produced 220 yards. Dalton had one of his best games of the season as he
threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Green had 127 yards receiving and a
touchdown catch, and Hill had 152 yards rushing off 27 attempts.
As a Bengals fan, this was a beautiful game to watch. Not
only did the defense finally show up to play, but the offense was able to
establish a running game which opened up the passing game which led to 27
points and a Bengals win. It seemed like the day couldn’t get any better…or so
I thought. The Browns lost to the Texans, allowing the Bengals to reclaim the
top spot in the AFC North.
While this was a great win for the Bengals, the team cannot
rest on its laurels as it has a date with the Houston Texans next Sunday.
NRG Stadium, formerly known as Reliant Stadium, has been a house of horrors for the Bengals as the Texans beat the
Bengals there two years in a row in the playoffs.
Hopefully the Bengals will play the way they did today not
only next week but throughout the rest of the season and into the playoffs as
their schedule only gets tougher. For now though Who-Dey Nation, let’s enjoy
this win as well as the highlights
from the game as we get pumped up for next week.
Who-Dey!
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