Just in Time: Bengals Prove They Are Men of Their Words With Win Over Jets

Cincinnati beat New York 27-12 on Sunday at Metlife Stadium.

Author:
Elise Jesse
Publish date:
Sep 26, 2022 10:30 AM EDT

In this story:

The Cincinnati Bengals went into Week 3 with their backs against the wall and hyper focused on winning their first football game of the season after an 0-2 start. The disastrous start was built off of predictable plays, 13 sacks, slow starts, a glaring lack of explosion on offense and takeaways on defense.

This team finally clicked in New Jersey and looked like the team fans expected to see from the start. Better late than never, right?

Lou Anarumo’s defense was all over the place and Marion Hobby’s defensive line ate Joe Flacco alive lead by Trey Hendrickson’s 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The offensive line played so well it had Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams aggressively arguing with defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton on the sidelines to the point where fellow teammates had to step between them.

Joe Burrow was only sacked twice throughout the game, throwing three touchdowns in the process.

“We came out and did everything we said we were going to do today,” Ja'Marr Chase said. “We definitely took a step forward and not backwards so I’m proud of the guys today.”

The play calling also took a step in the right direction.

“We did a good job of mixing it up. Throwing the ball deep, checking it down, running it," Burrow said following the win. “Its all predicated on the fact that we weren’t down 14 points in the first quarter. That just opens up the whole playbook for us."

Cincinnati has a quick turnaround. They host Miami on Thursday Night Football in Week 4.

The Dolphins managed to win their third-straight game on Sunday, this time against Josh Allen’s Bills. Heading into this game, Buffalo had beaten Miami seven-straight times before losing 21-19 with cornerback Dane Jackson, safety Micah Hyde, defensive tackles Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips out with injuries.

While the Bills' offense packed the stat sheet with 90 offensive snaps, 31 first downs, and 497 total yards of offense, the Dolphins showed they had the “bend but don’t break” quality about them.

If you only looked at the team's stats you would have leaned toward believing that the the Bills were the winner of that game but the reality was they were held to their lowest points total of the year (19).

Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey exploded after a frustrating game, which was led by Miami’s defensive line. Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah had 7 quarterback pressures and four quarterback hits, while Melvin Ingram posted five quarterback pressures, two sacks, a tackle for loss, and a fumble recovery.

Miami’s defensive line is scary and even though Frank Pollack’s group played well on Sunday, the focus will again return to the offensive line as they will need to be in sync on a short week.

Last week guys like Ted Karras said the line was aiming to build trust with Burrow. They seemed to have fixed their communication issues and build trust with their quarterback on Sunday and that trend must continue as they turn around and prepare for the prime time stage in just three days.

“They’re just improving and working hard in practice,” Burrow said. “Understanding the protections and corrections they had to make from the first two weeks and I played better, we called a better game and we weren’t behind in the first half. Like I said last week you get behind over and over again, you put those guys in bad positions. they’re getting pass rushed every single snap if you’re behind.”

Cincinnati knows it still has a lot to prove with the undefeated Dolphins coming to town this week. A win will put them at 2-2 and they'll have an extended week of rest before another massive division game on the road and in prime-time against the Baltimore Ravens.

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