Cincinnati Bengals: 5 Things We Learned from Week 1

Week 1 is in the books, and the Bengals are 1-0 following an unlikely 27-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

The game was not without its drama, though, with Bruce Gradkowski jump-starting a stalled Bengals offense in the game's latter stages, following an injury scare for rookie Andy Dalton.

Dalton left the game after defensive tackle Phil Taylor and defensive end Jabaal Sheard sandwiched him on 3rd-and-long with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter, with what looked to be a painful helmet-to-forearm connection causing the injury.

Despite the setbacks, the Bengals walked away with the win. So here's five things we learned from this opening day. 

Andy Dalton Inspired Confidence

While you're unlikely to see Andy Dalton on "Let's Go Prime-time" anytime soon, his performance in Cleveland was confidence building for fans.

In his short appearance, Dalton was 10-of-15 for 81 yards and a rating of 102.4. His first NFL touchdown pass came on the Bengals’ second drive, with a two-yard pass to Jermaine Gresham to give the Bengals a 10-0 lead.

Bolstered by mostly impressive offensive line play and solid groundwork from Cedric Benson, Dalton made accurate passes from good reads.

While he wasn't asked to do too much, and unfortunately we only saw a preseason game's worth of play from him, there was enough there to inspire confidence in fans.

The last time Dalton played four quarters of football was in the Rose Bowl, so the jury is still out on whether he can lead an NFL offense for a full 60 minutes of football.

Barring injury, Dalton did more than enough on Sunday to keep his job.  

Bruce Gradkowski Is a Serviceable Backup

It may not have been pretty, but Bruce Gradkowski grounded out a win for the Bengals on Sunday. 

He looked slow and unsure in the early going, and you have to remember he's spent all of his preseason playing time with the offense's second unit.

We can forgive Gradkowski the half hour of three-and-out after three-and-out—I mean, who would have expected him to step in just one quarter into the 2011 season? He was just as shocked as we were.

He got it going towards the end of the game, and his quick-snap catching the Browns defense off guard and resulting in a 41-yard TD pass to A.J. Green was perfectly executed.

It was some savvy quarterbacking from Bruce Gradkowski and it really shows you how fundamental aspects like a quick huddle can have a dramatic affect on the shape of the game.

Gradkowski may not have earned himself the starting job, but he certainly showed himself to be on the same page with OC Jay Gruden. Gradkowski endeared himself to the young offense, and proved to be a more than adequate plug-in-and-play backup.

The Bengals Defense Is United, Determined to Turn Heads

Many football pundits have been quick to write Cincinnati off due to QB Andy Dalton embarking on his rookie season, and it is a sentiment that doesn't sit well with the Bengals defense.

While its performance was just as erratic as the offense at times, the defense played with an aggression and enthusiasm that has been the calling card of this young team. 

Reggie Nelson was the standout, putting in some monster stops on his way to seven tackles and one sack for the day. The highlight was a car-crash hit on Peyton Hillis when Nelson threw his body at Hillis' legs inside the red zone. However, like the defense as a whole, he was not without his flaws, giving up big yardage to Mohamed Massaquoi in what was undoubtedly busted coverage.

Through a combination of sloppy offensive line play and aggressive Bengals rushing, Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap looked great getting to Colt McCoy, forcing him out of the pocket on a number of occasions and getting right in his face.

Leon Hall had an up-and-down kind of day, struggling with the Browns' tight end tandem of Evan Moore and Ben Watson for most of the afternoon. However both Hall and Nate Clements made big plays in the red zone towards the game's climax that more than redeemed earlier foibles and displayed their wide array of talents.

With Rey Maualuga leading a defense with a chip on its shoulder, consistency is the next obstacle on the way to the top. They are thriving off of naysayers in the media, and it showed on Sunday. Expect them to continue to turn heads as we venture into October.

Domata Peko summed up the theme of the day, post-game:

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"It gives you a pretty big chip on your shoulder. It makes you angry. It makes you want to prove everybody wrong, and that's what we did today. The game plan was to shut down (Peyton Hillis) and to get in (Browns QB Colt) McCoy's face. It was good to see him lying on the ground a couple of times, especially in the fourth quarter."  

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Cedric Benson Is the Key to This Offense

We knew coming into this season that Cedric Benson's success or failure in 2011 would mean the success or failure of the entire team, and his performance on Sunday gave reason to believe he can put up 2009 numbers once again.

It marked the third occasion out of five meetings that Benson (as a Bengal) has notched more than 100 yards rushing against the Browns, and he got off to a flying start right out of the gate once again this year. On the Bengals' first two possessions (which resulted in 10 points), Benson ran the football on 10 of those 17 plays on both drives combined—a telling sign of just how important he is.

On 25 carries Benson racked up 121 yards and one TD in which he went untouched on a 39-yard sprint up the right-hand side of the field. It capped off a successful day for Benson.

After the game, Benson was vocal about just how confident he was following the win. "Everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I think today was like this to mentally get this team with some momentum into next week.”

 Long may it continue!

Jay Gruden Is Already Better Than Bob Bratkowski

In his first day on the job, Jay Gruden did a number of things that excited. 

In particular, Gruden continued to pound the football on the ground late in the third quarter, despite a four-point deficit. All too often we saw Bob Bratkowski completely abandon the running game in the latter stages of losing efforts, that more often than not resulted in more misfortune.

Cedric Benson was certainly pleased to see Gruden have faith in his running game. "We got back to it," he said. "It’s Jay’s first day out, too. He’s got to get a feel for this team. He needs to understand we can do that all day.”

Gruden also nailed a quick-snap play call, resulting in a 41-yard TD pass to A.J. Green, that got the ball rolling for the Bengals in the fourth quarter. 

Following the game, center Kyle Cook hailed Gruden's approach and the new offensive style:

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If the defense isn’t ready, we take advantage of it, it was a great call by the offensive coordinator at the perfect time and we called it when they weren’t paying attention. It’s one of those plays if it doesn’t work for a touchdown and you still catch a 10-yard ball or a 15-yard ball, it works well for you. They know we’ll do it whenever.

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Gruden and the young Bengals offense can thrive in 2011 if they continue to do the unexpected and remain as disciplined as they were on Sunday. The young receivers are eager to impress, and despite expected transitional bumps from Dalton to Gradkowski, they handled the game well. 

It's very early days, and although there is only so much Jay Gruden can teach, what he has produced thus far is certainly intriguing.

Honorable Mentions

• Jonathan Fanene had a big game on Sunday with five tackles for the day, the highlight coming when he single-handedly sent Peyton Hillis backwards for a four-yard loss.
• Carlos Dunlap got in Colt McCoy's face all day long, knocking down two passes and being more of a nuisance to the Browns' QB than stats can attest.
• Leon Hall can't be rattled. Despite early struggles, Hall stayed focused and came up with some big plays for the defense, proving why he deserved his recent extension.
• Jermaine Gresham proved the theory that rookie QBs love tight ends in this one and turned in a stellar performance, using all of his giant frame to get open on passing downs. He looks like a sure-fire fantasy football steal.
• Michael Johnson proved why he has been afforded so much preseason hype. He batted down three passes on Sunday, and although his forward momentum did take him out of plays on occasion, his rushing pressure was mostly on point.