Five Takeaways From Cincinnati's Regular-Season Finale Win Over Baltimore

Cincinnati just matched it's best two-year record in team history.

Author:
Mike Santagata
Updated:
Jan 9, 2023 9:51 AM EST
Original:
Jan 9, 2023

In this story:

CINCINNATI — The Bengals have won the AFC North in back-to-back years for the first time.

It's Cincinnati's sixth AFC North title, tying them with the Ravens for the second-most crowns in division history. The Steelers have the most at nine titles, while the Browns still somehow have zero. The Browns never winning the division in 20 attempts had a 0.32% chance of happening and yet here they are.

The Bengals may have officially won the division with the no-contest ruling for last week, but it did not feel like a true title until they won yesterday.

January Jessie

Jessie Bates had an outstanding game in the regular season finale.

He came away with an interception, and a clutch forced fumble in what was most likely his final regular season game in Cincinnati as a member of the Bengals. The interception gives Bates a new personal best with four this season. Once again, it seems as if Bates may have saved his best ball for last, as this has a strong case to be the best game he's played this season.

Last year, Bates had an up-and-down regular season but went on an absolute tear in the playoffs, where he caught more interceptions (2) and broke up more passes (6) during that four-game stretch than he did in the entire 17-game regular season (1 INT, 4 PBUs).

This year was a bit better for Bates during the regular season, but it was not at that postseason level of play. If he can put it all together during the postseason run once again, then the Bengals are going to make a strong case as Super Bowl contenders.

Mixed Bag On Offense

The entire offense seemed to be out of sorts yesterday.

Joe Burrow missed throws he normally makes. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins dropped passes they normally catch. Plus, the offensive line gave up more pressures than should be expected. It felt like the team was out of sorts. They scored 27 points, but much of that credit goes to the defense, who scored a touchdown of their own and forced a slew of turnovers creating short fields for the Bengals' offense.

It seemed as if the Ravens took away whatever the Bengals wanted down the field, forcing them into check-downs and small gains. The Bengals might have played this somewhat close to the vest knowing that they would most likely get the Ravens again for the wildcard round, but at the same time, they wasted their setup on the fake screen as Burrow missed.

If they wanted to save everything for next week, then I’m not sure that they would have used the fake screen after setting it up with a multitude of early flat screens. Either way, the Bengals have to be sharper next week to get ready for a long postseason run.

An Unfortunate Injury

While the Bengals are relatively healthy heading into the postseason, there was one injury that will most likely affect them. Alex Cappa had a nasty ankle injury as a defensive tackle fell onto his leg.

This could be a case of the injury seeming worse from replay than it actually is, but he was on a scooter in the locker room. If he can't go against Baltimore next week, then it will be Max Scharping at right guard.

Cappa has been the best offensive lineman this season for the Bengals, in my opinion, and it’s never good to have an entire side of the offensive line go down to injuries. Hopefully, Scharping can provide some level of stable play to keep this offense humming. It would be frustrating if the offensive line hamstrings the playoff offense, similar to last year.

Resting Tyler Huntley

It was very interesting that the Ravens chose to rest Tyler Huntley for this game rather than let him play and compete for home playoff chances.

To me, there is not that much reason to keep your backup quarterback healthy for the playoff push other than if the starter is unable to go. While it’s not a certainty that Lamar Jackson misses this game, the Ravens seem to be playing their cards as if they expect him to miss.

If that is the case, then this Ravens offense might not have the juice to keep up with the Bengals even if Cincinnati does not come out sharp. The Ravens' season high with Huntley at quarterback this year is 17 points. The Bengals have scored 17 or more points in all but one game.

Special Teams Bounce Back

In his last full game, Evan McPherson had an off day. He missed a field goal and an extra point in sloppy weather conditions. This week, he showed that he is still one of the better kickers in the league, nailing both of his field goals and all three of his extra points. If there was any concern that he lost some confidence because of his bad day in New England, it should be quelled with this performance.

Similarly, Drue Chrisman had a great day punting the ball after a rough performance in New England. Against the Patriots, Chrisman averaged under 40 net yards per punt for only the second time this season. Against the Ravens, Chrisman averaged 44.9 net yards per punt and even boomed one 56 yards that went out of bounds at the Baltimore 5-yard line.

A true highlight reel-worthy boot, as he did not even need his coverage team. Chrisman and McPherson seemed to bounce back well, and if they can get hot at the right time, then they can provide a boost for the Bengals' playoff aspirations. Who could forget McPherson nailing all 14 field goal tries during the playoff run last year, including a pair of game-winners?

Cincinnati and Baltimore run it back in the Wild Card round on Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET on NBC. The game is available on NBC via fuboTV—start your free trial here.

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