Bengals vs. Broncos: Cincinnati Grades, Notes and Quotes
The Cincinnati Bengals got everything they needed from quarterback AJ McCarron on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos until the very last snap.
There, McCarron bumbled the snap, and the game ended, capsizing the sinking ship that came out of halftime with a lead and robbing the Bengals of a first-round bye in 20-17 fashion.
All hope isn't lost for the Bengals with one game left and playoff scenarios still bountiful, but this one stings after the Bengals opened the game on fire and eventually gave it away.
Within, let's take a look at the immediate notes and quotes after the loss before the team begins to turn around on a short week for a shot at the Baltimore Ravens.
Position Grades for Bengals
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Quarterback: B
It's hard to complain about McCarron's Monday night start, carving up one of the league's top defenses without looking rattled in any sense of the word.
Even without tight end Tyler Eifert, McCarron made the right quick reads, took care of the football and marched the offense up and down the field until the fateful final drive. What more can the staff ask of a backup?
Running Back: B
Cincinnati stayed committed to the run Monday, and it paid off.
The numbers didn't turn out so great, with Jeremy Hill running 19 times for 63 yards and Giovani Bernard going 8-of-14, but it's deceptive with the backs converting so many first downs and keeping the offense in 3rd-and-short situations to begin with, making for an overall strong day.
Wide Receiver: A
A.J. Green and Marvin Jones came up huge for the Bengals Monday.
Green and Jones just couldn't help but put on shows near the boundaries to protect McCarron, with the former finishing with five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown and the latter finishing with three for 33.
After a game in which Green couldn't give it a full go, thanks to a back issue, his presence on the field made all the difference.
Tight End: A
Like last week, Monday was a quiet day for tight ends with Tyler Eifert watching from the sideline.
Tyler Kroft pitched in with four catches for 46 yards, but otherwise he did well in a blocking role.
Offensive Line: C
What a turnaround for the offensive line.
After a miserable outing in San Francisco, Andrew Whitworth and the offensive line put on a solid show against an elite defense.
While the rushing numbers aren't gaudy, they did enough to keep the offense moving and McCarron's jersey relatively clean. For a quick-hitting offense, it's what the attack needed.
Defensive Line: A
Even with Geno Atkins on a pitch count, the strength of the Cincinnati defense came to play Monday and helped keep Denver running backs in check and the passing offense struggling.
The credit in large part goes to end Carlos Dunlap, who made history (more on that soon), though Michael Johnson and others pitched in for big performances.
Linebacker: B
Not much to say here. Vontaze Burfict and his unit, who played their holes well and stayed committed with the exception of the touchdown allowance in the fourth quarter, had another quality day.
The unit leaving itself susceptible to cutback runs reared its ugly head again in the fourth quarter at the worst possible time, though blame also goes to linemen and members of the secondary for missing tackles.
Defensive Backs: B
Other than an odd blown coverage allowing Emmanuel Sanders to score a touchdown, the Cincinnati secondary held up rather well most of the night against a pair of top-tier receivers.
Granted, most of the credit goes to the strong rush from the line, but upholding their end of the bargain isn't a reason to knock the guys in the secondary.
Special Teams: C
What a difference a missed field goal can make.
Other than Brandon Tates' odd return decisions, when it comes to the special teams' focus, it falls on Mike Nugent's miss.
Coaching: C
On one hand, the offensive game plan Cincinnati posted out of the gates Monday was downright special.
On the other, Marvin Lewis seemed to do what Marvin Lewis does—waste all three timeouts early in the second half and watch as the opponent makes halftime adjustments and his team doesn't.
Carlos Dunlap Makes History
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One week removed from posting a monster performance, Carlos Dunlap was at it again in Denver with defensive tackle Geno Atkins on a pitch count for health concerns.
Dunlap disrupted the Denver offense's timing all night, finishing the day with three sacks and working his way into the record books in the process by surpassing the 13.5 mark.
Around the NFL provided the details: "Carlos Dunlap up to 13.5 sacks, breaking Eddie Edwards’ longstanding Bengals single-season sack record. Michael Schofield can’t handle him."
Dunlap's having a historic season, not that his emergence with Atkins and Michael Johnson around this year at 100 percent should be a surprise.
Down a starting quarterback, the Bengals needed a big performance from other players, and Dunlap provided it in historic fashion.
AJ McCarron Shines Until the End
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Though he benefited in large part thanks to a solid approach from offensive coordinator Hue Jackson's plan, McCarron deserves plenty of credit for the Monday night effort.
McCarron put on an absolute show in the first half, going 12-of-17 for 119 yards and a score, once again taking great care of the football while finding his weapons on the outside near the chalk often.
Yahoo Sports' Frank Schwab put it best: "AJ McCarron is carving up the No. 1-ranked defense in the NFL. On the road. This is incredible."
The Alabama product finished with an 22-of-35 mark for 200 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Obviously, folks will linger on the botched snap, but the blame goes on the team as a whole. McCarron's strong game until that point shouldn't go ignored.
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Bengals Collapse
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Cincinnati exploded on the way to 14-3 halftime advantage Monday.
The theory for anyone watching was pretty simple—if the Bengals could keep the versatile, quick-hitting offense going, the Broncos wouldn't have a chance to get the crowd going and rally for a comeback.
Then Nugent missed a field goal, a blown coverage surrendered a touchdown and things spiraled out of control.
The collapse was an uncanny one, but Burfict's personal foul late in the game and the ensuing fumbled snap was far from playoff-caliber football for a team headed that way. The postgame reactions shared such undertones, of course.
Reggie Nelson Comes Clean
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The touchdown to give the Broncos the lead came by way of C.J. Anderson's 39-yard rush in which the Bengals once again allowed a running back to snap off a cutback and break tackles.
While blame goes to every level of the defense for the error, safety Reggie Nelson was quick to point the finger at himself, according to ESPN.com's Coley Harvey: "Reggie Nelson, on CJ Anderson's TD: 'I've got to make that tackle—period.' Two other Bengals missed tackles on that play.'"
It's a veteran gesture from one of the team's most underrated leaders and an intimate glimpse into how a locker room handles such a situation.
Nelson's comment also reveals the unit understands the issues. Now it's a matter of correcting the season-long hiccups in time for the playoffs.
McCarron Dishes on Issues
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This shouldn't come as a shock, but McCarron was one of the hottest postgame interviews.
Like Nelson, McCarron was quick to throw the blame on himself.
Jay Morrison of Cox Media Group captured his thoughts: "AJ McCarron: We didn't make enough plays. Had a chance to win and I messed up the snap. It's on me."
With McCarron being the leader and the mouthpiece of the offense in place of Andy Dalton right now, he sets the tone for the rest of the team, so the admission of the gaffe goes a long way in smoothing things over as the team moves forward.
It certainly had an impact on how others approached postgame talks.
Dunlap Ready to Move on
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Historic night or not, even Dunlap's gargantuan effort couldn't compensate for a few key mistakes that cost his team the game.
Dunlap might have been all over the place, but he couldn't prevent a missed field goal, untimely flags and gap control and just overall sluggish approaches from a coaching staff that looked like it came out of the half content.
Like the rest of the team, Dunlap took a positive tone to the result.
Morrison spoke with him after the game: "Dunlap: It sucks, but it is what it is. Lot of football ahead of us. Learn from our mistakes and move on."
Given Dunlap and his teammates' immediate reaction, it's clear the Bengals won't linger long on this, no matter how often the headlines suggest the team's doomed, full of chokers and everything else.
Next up for the Bengals is a date with the Ravens, and if Dunlap's comments are any sign, the rivals are already on every player's mind.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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