Bengals vs. Raiders: Cincinnati Grades, Notes and Quotes
The Cincinnati Bengals put on one of the most impressive season debuts in franchise history on Sunday, traveling West to Oakland and delivering a 33-13 whipping of the Raiders with relative ease.
Cincinnati rolled down the field for a score on its first drive of the game and never looked back, running up a 24-0 mark at halftime and watching as the Raiders suffered without quarterback Derek Carr, who injured his hand in the second quarter.
Andy Dalton and Co. only added nine more points in the third frame, but it was enough to provide some insulation against a few garbage-time scores by the Raiders in the final frame.
Most anything the Bengals tried worked in the process. Jeremy Hill ran for 63 yards and two scores. Dalton threw for 269 yards and two scores, both going to breakout star Tyler Eifert, who led the game with nine catches for 104 yards and the pair of scores.
On defense, the Bengals held the Raiders to a 3-of-12 mark on third downs and just 246 total yards. Geno Atkins and the line applied consistent pressure, while the secondary never gave up major plays.
Most teams would be hard-pressed to scrape together a better season debut.
Let's review the performance with grades and look at some of the most important information making the rounds after the fact.
Position Grades for Bengals
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| Position | Grade |
| QB | A |
| RB | A |
| WR | B+ |
| TE | A+ |
| OL | A+ |
| DL | A |
| LB | A |
| DB | A |
| Special Teams | A |
| Coaching | B |
As the table above shows, there isn't much to complain about after the Cincinnati victory.
Dalton looked sharp under center and made some nice throws in difficult spots. Really, his stat line should have been better, too, which is where the wideouts' grade dipped a bit. For example, A.J. Green finished with five grabs for 63 yards but dropped a touchdown pass early in the game.
The unit in front of Dalton looked great, too. He wasn't sacked, which is outstanding considering there was some concern going into a matchup against both Khalil Mack and Aldon Smith—not to mention right tackle Andre Smith was working his way back from injury.
On defense, the line worked wonders all afternoon. Atkins looked incredible and fully over his knee injury. Pat Sims rotated in and played the run well. Michael Johnson contributed at a high level, suggesting that his nightmare season in Tampa Bay last year was also a fluke.
The linebackers and secondary flew to the ball, too, with corner Adam Jones leading the team in tackles with 10.
Oakland's biggest threat was talented rookie wideout Amari Cooper, but the secondary mostly suffocated him, limiting the Alabama product to five catches for 47 yards.
Coaching wound up being the biggest negative on the day. It's clear that head coach Marvin Lewis and Co. did an outstanding job getting the team ready for the opener, but timeout usage and performance after timeouts were all over the place.
There was also an interesting gaffe late in the game with the victory in hand when Dalton performed a quarterback sneak and wound up on the bottom of a pile—the same thing that injured his neck in the preseason.
Dalton may have called an audible at the line, but he shouldn't have been in the game in the first place.
Tyler Eifert Explodes
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It's felt like a long time coming, but Eifert finally captured the attention of the football world on Sunday with his eye-popping stat line and big plays.
Fans who follow the Bengals knew this type of performance was possible, as the Notre Dame product was the focal point of the offense in last year's opener before going down with a season-ending elbow injury.
Eifert looks healthy now and wound up as the most targeted receiver on the afternoon in Oakland. It shouldn't come as a surprise—Eifert can stretch the field deep, but as he showed consistently, he's a great dump-off target for Dalton when things break down.
Cincinnati hasn't had a player like Eifert in a long time. For context, look at the digging ESPN Stats & Info did: "Tyler Eifert is third player in Bengals history with 100 receiving yards and two touchdown catches in [a] season opener (A.J. Green, 2013, Eric Crabtree, 1969)."
Oakland isn't the greatest measuring stick for Eifert's season, but the usage is worth noting.
Dalton trusts him all over the field, even when he's blanketed in coverage. His performance and their clear rapport are almost enough to make someone wonder what could have been last year if the big man had stayed healthy.
Geno Atkins Returns
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Atkins was the second-most impressive player on the field on Sunday in Oakland.
Despite consistent double-teams all afternoon, Atkins found his way into the backfield or collapsed running plays on his own.
At one point, he broke down the pocket and forced a strip sack, as ESPN's Coley Harvey observed: "Michael Johnson with the fumble recovery deep in Raiders territory. Geno Atkins made initial contact on the play. Big play for both of them."
Atkins looked like a shell of his former self last season after coming back from a knee injury. This year, preseason chatter has morphed into the real thing, as Atkins looks almost unblockable with his same old burst off the line and bulldozing strength.
As a result, the rest of the unit will continue to post strong performances.
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Slight Issues Persist
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For as great as the Bengals looked on Sunday, little things about the performance stood out.
It's not just the timeout issues or plays thereafter, either. Really, it's not even the head-scratching drops by someone like Green.
Really, it's about other factors like the post-whistle scuffles that drew flags. There was an ugly incident (via the Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Dehner Jr.) with Jones after one play, and on several others, there were flag-inducing scuffles that the more experienced team should have never been a part of at all.
Of course, it takes two to tango. Still, coaches will harp on the hiccups both from the coaching staff and individual players all week long leading up to the team's next game.
If that's the worst of it, then the Bengals made out like bandits in a locale they historically struggle in.
Marvin Lewis: Winning for Hue
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Lewis runs a tight ship in Cincinnati just as much among the coaching staff as the players.
It wasn't a shock to see Lewis bring back Hue Jackson, the team's current offensive coordinator, after the Raiders fired him despite an 8-8 mark in 2011—one of the franchise's best records in a decade.
Sunday was about redemption, even if nobody said so before the game. After, Lewis confirmed the notion, per Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle: "There's no doubt our guys wanted to win this game for Hue Jackson."
A little extra motivation never hurts. Jackson continues to stand as a critical piece of the organization and a key offensive mind pushing the proverbial envelope on an AFC contender. He's also once again a main candidate for a head coaching gig.
For a team akin to a family, the Bengals were all in for Jackson on Sunday.
Adam Jones: 'Here to Play Football'
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As mentioned, Jones was the subject of a nasty altercation with Cooper in which he appeared to rip the rookie's helmet off while he had him pinned.
Many, including NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano, didn't hesitate to weigh in on the matter: "Adam Jones should have been ejected."
It should be obvious that Jones was one of the focal points of interviews after the team's win. He took the time to explain his actions, as reported by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com: “I’m here to play football. I don’t back down from anybody and I’m not going to start anything. I’m not out there to hurt my team by any form or fashion. But I’ve got to make sure I protect myself, period, point blank.”
It's doubtful Jones ever intends to hurt his team, but the heat-of-moment actions harken back to continued comments by Lewis over the years about controlling emotions and, well, not hurting the team.
Jones' altercation was the main example of a bigger issue on Sunday and might even subject him to league discipline once reviewed. Regardless, it's a talking point Lewis can utilize with his team moving forward in an attempt to reel emotions in and play smart football without the extracurricular issues.
Andrew Whitworth: Aldon Smith a Challenge
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In a way, the Bengals prepared all offseason for the showdown with the Raiders.
Then the news about Aldon Smith hit—the Raiders inked the former San Francisco 49ers star to a deal, and even worse, he was eligible and would play against the Bengals.
For players, it's never fun to get off a lengthy trip and learn about something perhaps capable of flipping a game plan on its head.
For left tackle Andrew Whitworth, the surprise wasn't easy to deal with, per Hobson: “It was tough. He’s got something like 44 sacks in 50 games, but I’ve played him twice and he doesn’t have one. They’re good pass-rushers. They’re going to be a good team, but the Cincinnati Bengals have good tackles.”
Whitworth has every right to sound confident after the fact. Dalton didn't take a sack all game despite the best efforts of one of the league's best in Mack, not to mention Smith getting in on the action in passing situations.
Then again, Whitworth and Co. hardly allowed 20 sacks a season ago. Regardless, the performance and the suddenness of Smith's arrival didn't faze one of the league's top lines in hostile territory.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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