Cincinnati Bengals: Winners and Losers from Bengals vs. Jaguars

Cincinnati's 30-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars this afternoon marked their second straight win and improved their record to 3-2 through five weeks of play. While the record books will show just one W for the Bengals and one L for the Jags, here's a deeper look at the individual winners and losers from both sides of this afternoon's contest. 

Winners: Rookie Quarterbacks

A major storyline of today's contest was the showdown between rookie quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Blaine Gabbert. In the end, Dalton and his Bengal teammates came away with the victory, but both quarterbacks looked awfully impressive.

Gabbert may have played the best game of his young career today. He passed for 221 yards and threw a 74-yard touchdown to give his team the lead early in the fourth quarter. Two late turnovers put a damper on the day, but he appeared poised and confident for the majority of the game and certainly made strides in the right direction. 

As for Dalton? While he may not have put up earth-shattering numbers, he showed once again that he's capable of managing the game and making smart decisions with the football. He did throw the game's only interception, but he also found the end zone twice, so it's hard to complain.

Winner: A.J. Green

When Cincinnati drafted Georgia wideout A.J. Green with the fourth-overall pick in this year's draft, they thought he had the potential to become a superstar. 

They were right.

Green, who has undoubtedly become Andy Dalton's favorite downfield target, recorded five catches for 90 yards and a 37-yard touchdown today. Sure, it was against a banged-up Jacksonville defense, but you can't argue with the numbers. The guy is an absolute beast. 

Winners: The Cincinnati Defense

Cincinnati's top-ranked defense showed up to play once again today, holding Jacksonville's offense to just 296 total yards. They also recorded three sacks, forced two turnovers and scored a defensive touchdown.

300-pound nose tackle Geno Atkins marching into the end zone? I call that a win.  

Loser: Cedric Benson

Cedric Benson didn't do anything particularly poorly today, but he wasn't the powerful, productive running back Bengals fans have become used to seeing.

Benson, who has been openly critical of Cincinnati's play-calling as of late, carried the ball 24 times today, but managed to gain only 53 yards (an average of 2.2 yards per carry).

They may have gotten the victory today, but Benson will have to pick up the pace if Cincy hopes to keep up their winning ways. 

Loser: Marcedes Lewis

This time last year Marcedes Lewis was catching touchdown passes left and right and establishing himself as one of the most talented tight ends in the NFL.

But, as I said, that was last year.

Lewis has struggled mightilty so far this season, and his hardships continued today. He was targeted several times, but caught just one pass for six yards. Lewis needs to become a much more integral part of the Jaguar's offensive scheme if they're going to turn things around.