Bengals vs. Buccaneers: Full Report Card Grades for Cincinnati
Marvin Lewis bailed out his Cincinnati Bengals Sunday in a 14-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With the game on the line with mere seconds left, Lewis challenged a big gain by Tampa Bay that would have put the Buccaneers into chip-shot range for the game-winning field goal. Although Lewis did not have the power to challenge any play, the stoppage birthed a review that caused the officials to call a flag and negate the big gain.
Cincinnati went on to win. Lewis put it best after the fact, as captured by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
"Marvin: we overcame ourselves
— Geoff Hobson (@GeoffHobsonCin) November 30, 2014"
In one of the most forgettable games of the season, Lewis was the hero. Andy Dalton threw a trio of interceptions. The offense as a whole was stifled. The defense was stingy, partially thanks to help from Tampa Bay's sheer ineptitude, but it could not stop shooting itself in the foot.
Regardless, the Bengals now have three consecutive wins on the road and return home with a chance to regroup as leaders of the AFC North.
Within, let's dish out grades for the up-and-down performance.
Quarterback: C
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Andy Dalton had a first half to forget Sunday in Tampa Bay.
It started on the first drive, too. Scratch that—his team's first offensive snap was a turnover thanks to an interception. His second was just as bad, as ESPN.com's Coley Harvey illustrates:
"Andy Dalton with his second interception of the game. This time on a would-be touchdown. Hung short a pass in double coverage. #Bengals
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) November 30, 2014"
No. 3 came at the end of the first half while Cincinnati was down by three points and in possession of three timeouts. Dalton got rushed, backpedaled and lofted up a ball for anybody to catch.
He had his good moments. He played a read-option in a smart manner and scored in the first half. He threw a smooth touchdown pass to give his team the lead.
In all he wound up with 176 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Healthy or not, Dalton will need a quick turnaround with so many AFC North encounters on the upcoming slate.
Grade: C
Running Back: B
2 of 10
Rookie Jeremy Hill got the start Sunday for the Bengals in Tampa Bay.
He struggled in his limited looks by rushing for 40 yards on 13 carries, while Giovani Bernard eventually got in on the action with 10 carries for 49 yards.
The problem is, the first half was a mess for the backfield. The limited opportunities the backs got were just that with so many turnovers coming from the quarterback position.
Still, it is interesting to see that Hill not only got the start but wound up with more carries than Bernard. It may be a sign of things to come down the stretch, as Hill has mostly proved to be more reliable between the tackles.
In turn, that means Bernard will stay fresh and be free to do what he does in the passing attack—if this is how the staff plans to proceed, of course.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver and Tight End: B+
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As one can expect, Cincinnati wideouts were hampered Sunday thanks to iffy play under center.
A.J. Green was close to his usual self when the ball was on target. He wound up with four catches for 57 yards and a score. Rookie James Wright out of LSU was a nice surprise too, getting some work on the ground with one carry and tallying three catches for 59 yards to lead the team—including a game-saving grab near the sidelines late.
Mohamed Sanu was the wild card for coordinator Hue Jackson, though. He caught two passes for 19 yards but also threw a pretty 10-yard completion to Dalton in the first half.
Tight end Jermaine Gresham was also a focal point of the offense in the first half. He wound up with 33 yards on five catches thanks to five targets.
Outside of continued drop issues from Sanu, the unit looked great given the circumstances.
Grade: B+
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Offensive Line: D
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An injured offensive line was downright miserable for most of the day in Tampa Bay and certainly did not help the issues at quarterback.
Marshall Newhouse was a mess at right tackle in relief of Andre Smith. Rookie center Russell Bodine had a notable flag and was a liability—although to be fair, most rookies are against Gerald McCoy.
Newhouse and Kevin Zeitler were abused on the second drive of game for a drive-killing sack, as Jay Morrison of Cox Media Group points out:
"Gerald McCoy blows by Zeitler to affect Dalton's third-down pass. He's been a big factor already.
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonCMG) November 30, 2014"
The Bengals did make some changes, though, by moving Clint Boling to right guard. It was far from perfect and helped result in Dalton's third pick, but the quality of play did tick up a bit.
In short, the Bengals rushed for 112 yards, and Dalton was sacked twice and pressured countless other times. It is quite clear that the staff will be on the hunt for help on the right side moving forward.
Grade: D
Defensive Line: B
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The play of the Cincinnati defensive line was deceptive Sunday in Tampa Bay.
Statically speaking, the line was not great. The team generated just one sack, but Carlos Dunlap had one called back, as did Geno Atkins.
When it came to getting pressure, the above names and those around them did a solid job.
Run defense is another story entirely.
The line helped to allow the Buccaneers to rush for 75 yards, while the struggling Doug Martin came out with 58 yards and a score on his own.
Dunlap finished with 0.5 sacks and seven total tackles with three of them for a loss to lead the team in all categories. Atkins shared the sack with his partner in crime.
While not the best overall performance in the world, the line did well in a hostile environment to put consistent pressure on the passer.
Grade: B
Linebacker: B-
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One has to take the good with the bad when it comes to the Cincinnati linebackers.
Once again without Vontaze Burfict, the unit still had a relatively strong day with some notable plays, especially from Rey Maualuga, as Paul Dehner Jr. of Cincinnati.com breaks down:
"Another nice play from Rey Maualuga -- and in coverage even. Continues his ascension as resurrected fan favorite.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) November 30, 2014"
Still, even Maualuga's return to form since his comeback could outweigh notable tackling issues. The line in front of the unit was far from perfect, but this problematic area once again reared its head after a two-week hiatus.
Maualuga finished with just one tackle, while Vincent Rey got seven to tie with Dunlap for the team lead.
The continued strong play of Maualuga is quite noteworthy, but he needs help sooner rather than later.
Grade: B-
Secondary: B
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Given the talent of Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans, the Cincinnati secondary put on a great performance Sunday.
The standout this time was reliable veteran Terence Newman, who picked off a pass in the first half. Paul Dehner Jr. of Cincinnati.com paints the season-long picture well:
"Terence Newman has been playing great this year, but the interception had eluded him. That's his first of the year.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) November 30, 2014"
Leon Hall and Adam Jones both struggled against the pair of massive receivers at times but overall put on strong performances. Rookie Darqueze Dennard and Dre Kirkpatrick once again put on shows as gunners on special teams.
In the end, Evans was held to four grabs for 49 yards. Jackson had two for 24. The secondary was a major culprit in the missed-tackles department, though, and collapsed in a big way with the game on the line.
Again, the up-and-down day was personified well by the erratic play from the secondary.
Grade: B
Special Teams: B
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It was quite the mixed bag Sunday for Cincinnati special teams.
Kevin Huber was his usual elite self. He punted six times, tallied 289 total yards and pinned the Buccaneers inside their own 20-yard line once.
Now for the bad. Adam Jones was a mess on returns. He took a pair of vicious hits on punt returns just to preserve his streak of no fair catches. He was yanked from the game, and Brandon Tate did the same thing.
The unit also attempted a strange onside kick with the lead. The Buccaneers recovered and got a field goal from the mistake. Outside of that, kick coverage was quite good, thanks to names such as Dre Kirkpatrick.
It is hard to complain on the whole, but teams will continue to punt short to force Jones into a mistakes until he proves he is willing to call a fair catch more often.
Grade: B
Coaching: A
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The overall tone of Sunday's encounter with Tampa Bay mirrored the performance of the staff.
Things were rough out of the gate. Marvin Lewis' team looked unprepared. The staff turned things around by shuffling the offensive line and with offensive coordinator Hue Jackson getting creative. Those changes led to the offense's first touchdown of the game.
Then the strange onside kick happened in the second half.
It really is a win-lose situation for Lewis. Win and get praised for taking the momentum and then running with it. Lose and, well, get bad grades. The onside kick probably should not have happened given how well the team was playing the field-position battle in the first place.
Of course, then Lewis saved the game on his own. ESPN's Buster Olney put it best:
"Marvin Lewis earned his money today. Bengals don't win without his decision to throw the challenge flag when he wasn't allowed to.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 30, 2014"
It is easy to forgive mistakes when the actions of a much-maligned coach essentially win a game outright. That would be the case here.
Grade: A
Final Grades
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| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | C |
| RB | B |
| WR/TE | B+ |
| OL | D |
| DL | B |
| LB | B- |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | B |
| Coaching | A |
| Cumulative Grade | B- |
Tampa Bay is not the pushover most would classify it as.
That is not to pad the sense of accomplishment of the Bengals, but some of the matchups were bound to be downright nightmares. Gerald McCoy against an injured line? Tough. Two massive receivers against an up-and-down secondary and an overall unit without its best player? Brutal.
Yet the Bengals prevailed. It was ugly, but notching three consecutive road wins after the public shunning at the hands of Cleveland is hard to complain about at this point.
That said, the coaches have a lot of work to do. The current offensive line is going to get the team in big trouble in the coming weeks. So will Dalton if this form makes a reappearance down the line.
With Pittsburgh on deck twice and Cleveland and Denver once to close the season, that lead in the AFC North is in no way safe. With any luck, a trip to the bay was the last nudge the team needs in the right direction.
All stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com as of 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 30, unless otherwise specified.
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