Biggest Takeaways from Cincinnati Bengals' Week 3 Win

The Cincinnati Bengals came up big Sunday in Baltimore, connecting on big play after big play to move to 3-0 with a 28-24 dismissal of the Ravens.

Andy Dalton and the Bengals answered plenty of questions in the critical AFC North showdown, surviving two costly turnovers and droves of tackling mistakes in large part thanks to Dalton's poise and A.J. Green's 10 catches for 227 yards and two touchdowns.

It's the type of early-season win the Bengals can build on, the resiliency of a young team to not blink in the face of adversity and pull out a late win something befit of a divisional champion, if not more.

Within, let's break down some of the biggest lessons learned by the team's strong performance.

Defense Still Has Tackling Issues to Work on

Nick Wass/Associated Press

For all the praise the globe will rightfully heap on the Bengals in the coming weeks, it's important to start with the biggest negative.

Tackling.

It's been a consistent issue in Cincinnati over the course of the past four or five years, and it reared its ugly head yet again Sunday in Baltimore. In fact, the simple wrapping up of a ball-carrier would have in large part reduced Steve Smith's 13 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

While it sounds like a small complaint given the magnitude of the victory, had the offense not bailed out the defense with two late touchdown drives, it would be a much bigger topic.

Said offense might not always be there to catch the defense when it stumbles. Basic tackling remains a problem head coach Marvin Lewis and Co. need to fix right away.

Giovani Bernard Will Continue to Eat Jeremy Hill's Snaps

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

For the second week in a row, Giovani Bernard carried the ball more times than presumed starter Jeremy Hill.

Hill fumbled twice in Week 2 against San Diego and hit the bench while Bernard handled most of the workload. Hill hung onto the ball this time around, but he rushed just 12 times for 21 yards compared to Bernard's 13 for 49.

At best, Hill ran timid Sunday, dancing in the backfield and perhaps focusing more on not giving away the rock than finding the right hole when it formed and attacking it. It probably didn't help that the Ravens somewhat knew what to expect with him in the backfield.

The moral of the story? Lewis won't hesitate to hand the job over to Bernard regardless of the situation, especially if Hill continues to struggle. It's hard to imagine he does, and there's nothing wrong with having a potent one-two punch.

Still, the Bengals are going to need Hill to post some major performances this year like he did as a rookie.

Marvin Jones Remains a Silent Key Piece

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Although they deserve the hype, Green and Tyler Eifert overshadow perhaps the best story about the 2015 Bengals so far, if not the most important.

Marvin Jones missed all of 2014 with an injury, and the team paid the price. Wideouts were unable to create separation, and defenses could throw everything they had at Green.

Jones is back, though, and over the course of the past two games alone, he has seven catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns, five, 94 and one coming in Baltimore this Sunday.

It's an important development for the Bengals, as the roster doesn't feature the depth at wideout to compensate if Jones has to leave the lineup again. The falloff between him and Brandon Tate or Greg Little would have quite the negative ripple effect on the unit.

Publicized or not, Jones continues to make a major difference for the Bengals early this season.

Mistakes No Longer Define Bengals

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

The past few years, Cincinnati showed its youthful ways with cascading mistakes.

A fumble would lead to more, or an interception would lead to dropped passes, miscommunications or even more interceptions.

Now, though, it doesn't seem like the Bengals blink in the face of anything. When Dalton threw a pick that cost the team at least three points, the team charged forward. When he fumbled it away late and the Ravens took it back for a touchdown, same thing.

Ditto for when the Ravens took the lead off yet another big play, as Dalton stood calm and collected and found Green with two minutes and 10 seconds left in regulation for their second scoring hookup of the day, the game-winning connection.

It's almost cliche, if not criminal, to say a team continues to grow up before an observer's eyes. But it simply appears the case here with these Bengals through three games, as the wrath of hair-pulling mistake after mistake seems a thing of the past.

Andy Dalton Commands Respect

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Credit Dalton as the main reason for the victory Sunday. 

With the defense struggling and the ground game almost nonexistent, Dalton handled blitzes, sacks and turnovers in stride no matter the field position or score. His strikes to Green were on the money and unwavering.

To make things even more impressive, the final score to Green was an audible Dalton himself called at the line. Eifert spoke with Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson after the fact about the scenario: “Hue (Jackson) gives Andy a lot of freedom. We’ve got confidence he’ll put us in the right play."

Through three games, it's impossible to ignore Dalton's play and the poise that seems to sustain his teammates through adversity. It's a valuable thing for the team to have and a dangerous development for the rest of the AFC North.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.