Cincinnati Bengals: 7 Keys to Winning in Week 3

After a heartbreaking week two loss to the Denver Broncos, the Cincinnati Bengals are aiming to get back on track at home against the San Francisco 49ers. One of the most beneficial aspects to the game is that the Bengals are going back home to play in friendly territory.

The Bengals' season is not yet the lost cause that most people are calling it. This is not to imply that the Bengals are going to be a playoff team, but believing that they won't win more than three or four games is ludicrous.

The rookies on this team are not—or at least, are not yet—showing many growing pains. Two games in, with Andy Dalton slinging the ball the way he is, and A.J. Green pulling in 10 grabs in week two, this team is showing potential. 

How do they right the ship? These seven keys are crucial to the Bengals notching win number two.   

Shut Down the 49ers' Offense

Let me say this right away: I understand 100 percent that this is not a tough task.

That is the very reason I led off with this slide.  The Bengals have a legitimate defense and should have no problem shutting down a week San Francisco offense.

Alex Smith is not a good quarterback and was never the first round quality that he was given.

Frank Gore has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his career, but has started slow in 2011.

Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree are great targets for Smith to throw the ball to, but they've largely not made a huge difference thus far either.

If the Bengals' linebackers can rush Smith hard, he's going to make mistakes.  That will leave Leon Hall and Nate Clements to pick the bones.

Cedric Benson Returning to Week 1 Form

Cedric Benson appears to be the proverbial x-factor for the Cincinnati Bengals.

One week, he'll have a great game, such as he did in Week 1 when he accumulated over 120 yards and a touchdown.

The next, he may follow up with a not so impressive outing, as he did in Week 2 when he ran for just 59 yards.

Benson's performance appears to hinge on how well the passing game is performing. Cincinnati was largely playing down the entire game in Week 2, and therefore forced Andy Dalton to throw the ball quite a bit.

Imagine if both the passing and the running game were clicking for this team at the same time.  Benson certainly has the potential to be a threat, and Dalton is showing signs of being a great franchise quarterback.

Look for Benson to get back to his true form in Week 3, and run for over 100 yards.

Trust the Young Guys

I had a comment posted on one of my past articles stating that letting Andy Dalton throw the ball in 2011 would be an awful way to break him into the game.

Two weeks in, he's yet to throw an interception and has a completion percentage of 66.1 percent and he has thrown for 332 yards against the Denver defense.

While yes, we are just two weeks in, Dalton is not making silly rookie errors that drag down young quarterbacks.  His throws have been on the money and he's not thrown into double coverage. His success at TCU is clearly going to carry over.

With Dalton throwing effectively, first round pick A.J. Green is reaping the benefits. He had 10 catches on Sunday against the Broncos for 124 yards and caught his second touchdown.

Jerome Simpson is also showing signs of being an elite receiver, though he's not a rookie. In only his fourth season, Simpson has finally begun to show signs of life.

All of these guys were effective against both the Browns and Broncos. Continue to put your faith in them.

Man-to-Man Coverage on Defense

This may just be adding on to the point of shutting down the offense, but this gets a bit more specific as to how.

Leon Hall and Nate Clements combine to be one of the best cornerback duos in football and  Michael Crabtree and Braylon Edwards have unclear statuses for the game in Week 3.

If Hall or Clements are put on on Josh Morgan, Ted Ginn Jr. or and Kyle Williams it will be a total mismatch, and the defense is going to shut them down.

There's still the concern of covering Vernon Davis. He's a very good tight end, no doubt about it.  Still, Chris Crocker, Reggie Nelson, or even linebacker Manny Lawson can cover him.

Alex Smith throws into traffic a lot.  Covering in a man-to-man format is going to force him into throwing silly passes.

Don't Quit on Third Down

I have all the respect in the world for fullback Brian Leonard and everything he does. He's a quality guy to have on the field.

However, I want to pull my hair out and choke the coaches every single time I see a little dump pass to him. Why?

Often times, that play comes when it's 3rd and 14. Cincinnati, for the past several years, have gotten into a habit of quitting on third down.  More specifically, recently retired and disrespectful quarterback, Carson Palmer was notorious for it and I hated him because of it.

Trying to limit your damage doesn't work in football.  For so many years the Bengals seemingly had a built-in format for about 75 percent of the football game:

• 1st and 10:  run.
• 2nd and 9:  run.
• 3rd and 12:  dump pass to the nearest eligible receiver.

There's no reason to throw in the towel on third down, even if you have a million yards to go.  Throw more passes down field.

Blitz... A Lot

Colt McCoy and Kyle Orton have both been effectively shut down by the blitzing Bengals' defense.

They're both quality quarterbacks and now that the defense was able to contain them, try to tell me with a straight face that Alex Smith can do the waltz into Paul Brown Stadium and have a fantastic game.

As I've mentioned, Smith is not that good. You blitz him, he's going to do one of two things:  he'll either crumble and take the sack, or he's going to make a stupid throw. You can take both of those to the bank.

Applying pressure to Smith is going to be one of the biggest keys in this game, as it is the quickest way to make sure the 49ers go down.

Ultimately, Attack with the Passing Game

The 49ers currently rank first overall in rush defense. While Benson can be effective, you don't want to make that the backbone of this game.

Instead, attack the pass defense, which is ranked 24th and allows 291 yards per game. 

Mind you, the passers they've faced thus far include Tarvaris Jackson in Seattle, then parts of Tony Romo and Jon Kitna.

Two out of three of those quarterbacks aren't very good, and the pass defense is still awful.  Donte Whitner is the key player for the 49er defense, and getting past him essentially gets you to the end zone.

With that in mind, he can't cover everyone.  A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson are going to burn the safeties on every slant or streak route they run. Let Dalton throw in this one.