Halftime Observations: Defense Leads the Way, Bengals Trail Washington 6-3

Cincinnati's offense struggled in the first half.

Author:
James Rapien
Updated:
Aug 20, 2021 9:49 PM EDT
Original:
Aug 20, 2021

CINCINNATI — The Bengals played like they practiced in the first half of Friday night's game in Washington.

Their defense was dominant and their offense looked out of sync, especially without Joe Burrow on the field.

Washington has a 6-3 lead at the half. Here are our halftime observations:

Defense Dominates

The Bengals' first-team defense continues to play well. They allowed just 52 total yards and two first downs in three drives. They had one sack and forced one turnover.

Logan Wilson forced a fumble and Mike Hilton recovered. Watch that play below.

It's also worth noting that newcomers like Chidobe Awuzie, Trey Hendrickson and Larry Ogunjobi all made plays to help the defense get off the field.

Darius Hodge and Jalen Davis also made big plays in the backfield in their quest to make the 53-man roster.

Rough Outing for the Rookie

Ja'Marr Chase has had better nights. The rookie wide receiver was targeted on three third-down plays and the ball hit his hands all three times, unfortunately he couldn't hang onto any of them.

Chase's timing with backup quarterback Brandon Allen was clearly off, which didn't help matters, but he should've caught at least two of the passes. Watch one of the drops below.

Allen Struggles and an Offensive Line Update

It wasn't just Chase that struggled for the Bengals. Some of Allen's passes sailed over his intended target. A few of his attempts were nearly interception.

The veteran completed just 5-of-13 passes for 28 yards.

Quinton Spain and Xavier Su'a-Filo got the start at left and right guard, respectively.

Spain was called for a holding penalty that negated a 17-yard screen play to Joe Mixon on the Bengals' first drive. Riley Reiff also cost his team five yards with a false start.

Jackson Carman played with the second-team offense at right guard. Michael Jordan played at left guard with D'Ante Smith not playing. Isaiah Prince and Fred Johnson played left and right tackle. Rookie Trey Hill played center.

The offensive line didn't allow a sack in the first half, but they didn't open up many holes in the running game either.

The Bengals finished with just 27 rushing yards and 55 total yards. They were 0-for-6 on third down and only had one first down in the half.

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