Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Full Report Card Grades for Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bengals might have scored a season-saving win Sunday by breaking the team's free fall with an AFC North 27-24 triumph over the Baltimore Ravens.
For Cincinnati, the return to form comes after a tie two weeks ago and a brutal shutout last week on the road. The Bengals picked a great time to recover and mostly play to their talent level, as the win completes the season sweep of the Ravens and puts them in first place.
Andy Dalton was mostly sound under center, but his two rushing touchdowns were offset with a pair of costly turnovers. The ground game behind him was ineffective, but given the number of players still out with an injury, it is difficult to complain with the end result.
The defense was the most encouraging sign. One week removed from getting brutalized, the unit responded by holding the Ravens to just 294 total yards. It limited big plays and routinely got pressure, something that was sorely missing as of late.
Let's assign grades to each major positional group as the team prepares for an encounter with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Quarterback: B
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was not on the field much during the first half of his team's encounter with the Baltimore Ravens.
That said, he made the most of it with a 7-of-8 line for 108 yards and a rushing touchdown by halftime.
Dalton is certainly not at fault for the staff finally going back to a run-first approach. He is, however, at fault for his bevy of costly mistakes.
Jay Morrison of Cox Media Group illustrates one such issue:
"Super accurate all day, Dalton overthrows a wide open Greg Little in the end zone. #Bengals will try for Nugent 33 yard FG
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonCMG) October 26, 2014"
Even worse was a miserable fumble as he attempted to throw with his left hand and an interception that, while it should have been caught, was misplaced and put his receiver at risk before the ball went to the other team.
At the end of the day, Dalton did lead his team down the field for a win. That is not all that matters, as the mistakes must stop right away, but Dalton overcame much adversity to save his team Sunday.
Grade: B
Running Back: C
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Giovani Bernard once again had the weight of his offense's productivity on his shoulders Sunday.
The Cincinnati Bengals tailback was mostly ineffective in the first half as the defense was on the field for most of the game. He averaged just 3.3 yards per carry in the first two quarters, but some of the blame certainly falls on his offensive line.
By the end of the day, Bernard finished with 16 carries for 45 yards on a 2.8 per-carry average to go along with two catches for as many yards. Rookie Jeremy Hill was once again used as the primary complement and finished with 10 carries for 25 yards.
While Bernard did manage a short-yardage touchdown before his eventual exit with an injury, it was mostly a forgettable day. It can be forgiven, though, as the Ravens are an elite unit against the rush and thought enough of Bernard to focus on him for most of the day.
Grade: C
Wide Receiver and Tight End: A
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The Cincinnati Bengals receiving corps started out with a bang Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens thanks to Mohamed Sanu, who without A.J. Green on the field was once again the No. 1 target through the air.
Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer best describes a grab by Sanu on the first drive of the game:
"Slick one-handed catch by Mo Sanu for the first big play of the game. 48-yard reception. His highlight reel growing this year.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) October 26, 2014"
Sanu wound up with five catches for 125 yards by the end of the day, with tight end Jermaine Gresham once again playing a prominent role in the offense as well, finishing with four catches for 34 yards.
The biggest surprise of the day was Greg Little, who joined the team two weeks ago and has since worked his way up past Brandon Tate and others on the depth chart. He made a number of key grabs, some of which were negated by flags, and finished with three catches for 42 yards as the second-most targeted player on the offense.
In all, it was a day to remember for a hobbled wideout corps. Little's progression is great to see, while Sanu continues to shine as the No. 1 option, twice bailing out poor throws from Andy Dalton (including one on the eventual game-winning drive).
A.J. Green will be back soon, too.
Grade: A
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Offensive Line: C
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The Cincinnati Bengals offensive line once again turned in an up-and-down performance.
This time, the opponent was the Baltimore Ravens, so some struggles were to be expected against a pass rush led by Elvis Dumervil.
Still, unnecessary flags are not forgivable.
Two holding flags on Andre Smith in the second quarter, including a flag that ruined a third-down conversion and another one that nullified a big gain in the waning moments of the first half, were the lowlights for the unit on the day.
It also gave up two sacks. Again, Baltimore is no slouch, but combine the shaky protection with poor run blocking that allowed Cincinnati to average just 3.3 yards per carry, and the unit left something to be desired Sunday.
Grade: C
Defensive Line: A
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Slowly but surely, it seems as if the Cincinnati Bengals defensive line continues to heal right along with tackle Geno Atkins.
After a monster performance from Carlos Dunlap last week, it was those around him who were notably in on big plays and generating much-needed pressure.
ESPN.com's Coley Harvey provides an account from the first half that signaled a return to form for the unit:
"Once again, Wallace Gilberry finds himself around Joe Flacco. Geno Atkins gets his first full sack of the year, but Gilberry there, too.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) October 26, 2014"
As a result of mostly strong play throughout, the rest of the defense turned in a strong performance. Atkins finished with that sack and four tackles overall, while Dunlap registered three stops.
There were some negative spots, such as a costly penalty by Robert Geathers. But the Ravens were able to rush just 26 times for 107 yards on a 4.1 per-carry average, and quarterback Joe Flacco was sacked once and hurried plenty of other times, including on both of his interceptions.
The ripple effect the line has on the rest of the unit each week is noticeable. It certainly was Sunday and only in a good way.
Grade: A
Linebacker: B
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Even without Rey Maualuga in the middle, the Cincinnati Bengals linebacking corps was strong Sunday.
Against the Baltimore Ravens, Vontaze Burfict was his usual self and finished with seven total tackles. As ESPN.com's Coley Harvey illustrates, Burfict was a major reason the Ravens were held out of the end zone in the first half:
"What a stand for the #Bengals' D. Looked like its old self there, denying Ravens on fourth-and-goal. Burfict had two key stops after return
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) October 26, 2014"
Emmanuel Lamur was fully healthy and subsequently had a major impact, too, most notably notching an interception of Joe Flacco in the third quarter that eventually led to a touchdown.
Vincent Rey was noticeably a weak point, especially when it comes to missing tackles, but the hobbled unit looked much better Sunday overall. A lot of that has to do with strong line play up front, but disciplined football makes a major difference, too.
Grade: B
Secondary: B
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At times, it seems that the Cincinnati Bengals secondary goes as the coaching goes.
After Sunday's win, a note from ESPN.com's Coley Harvey puts this into perspective:
"It's been a while, but we just saw Paul Guenther dial up a cornerback blitz. Good pressure by Terence Newman forces incompletion #Bengals
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) October 26, 2014"
Pressure is something the unit as a whole has had problems with as of late, so turning the secondary loose to help in that regard was a great move.
Then again, one could say the secondary goes when the defensive line does. Regardless, safety Reggie Nelson was once again all over the place and finished with six total tackles. George Iloka did much of the same, finishing with five tackles and drawing a critical pass interference call at the end of the game.
Corners Leon Hall and Terence Newman had lapses at times but mostly held Steve Smith and others in check. The former tied for the team lead in tackles with seven. Adam Jones, always a big-play threat, got himself an interception in the third quarter that led to a field goal. Even Dre Kirkpatrick had some nice plays, and he formed an impressive tandem on special teams with Darqueze Dennard.
Again, line play has a serious impact on the rest of the unit. But when the Ravens did have enough time to take deep shots, the secondary held up much better than in recent weeks.
Grade: B
Special Teams: A
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It was a typical day for the Cincinnati Bengals when it comes to special teams.
Mike Nugent was called upon two times and hit on both attempts. Kevin Huber was asked to punt a whole lot less than last week and finished with three attempts for a 52-yard average.
Perhaps most impressive, though, is the continued strong performance on kick returns. This is especially the case on punts, as the team has two first-round rookie corners acting as gunners.
Such is life for a team with impressive depth. The longest Baltimore punt return on the day went for nine yards, and Jacoby Jones averaged just 24.4 yards on his five kickoff returns.
Grade: A
Coaching: B
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Outside of a wasted timeout early in the first quarter, Marvin Lewis and the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff had a great day against the Baltimore Ravens.
Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson dialed up a run-first approach but with a dash of his usual trickery as well, such as a run by wideout Mohamed Sanu that went for a big gain near the start of the third quarter.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther got his unit back on track, and as mentioned, he himself got a bit creative with various blitzes designed to keep the Baltimore offense honest.
In all, major kudos goes to the staff for getting the team back on track after one of the worst performances in the Lewis era. It seems the staff got back to basics for the most part and greatly put the talent in a position to succeed.
It is difficult to ask for much more outside of it happening on a game-to-game basis.
Grade: B
Final Grades
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| Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
| QB | B |
| RB | C |
| WR/TE | A |
| OL | C |
| DL | A |
| LB | B |
| Secondary | B |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | B |
| Cumulative Grade | B |
Feel free to call it ugly and perhaps a little stressful, but the Cincinnati Bengals got a much-needed win Sunday.
Not only was the team overcoming the ebbs and flows of a game with a sometimes erratic Andy Dalton under center, it was attempting to overcome a number of injuries and two consecutive games of downright pitiful showings.
This is how quickly things can change in the NFL. Now the Bengals own the AFC North and a critical tiebreaker. Those weeks of issues seem a thing of the past as the team heads into a winnable stretch against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns.
There are things to work on, but simply getting healthy and sticking to what works is the right course for these AFC North-leading Bengals.
All stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
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