Cardinals vs. Bengals: 9 Things We Learned from Cincinnati's 23-16 Win

In a game where high-flying acrobatics displayed the signature move of a player who has been on again off again, it was the defining moment of an unpredictable season yet to conclude.

Be it Simpson's somersault for a touchdown, the defense losing its way after three quarters of shutdown, shut-up football or backup quarterbacks flourishing in the final frame, the Bengals showed staying power and a little bit of luck not seen in a long time.

Here is what we learned about the Bengals in Week 16...

Holy Smokes! Simpson Delivers!

Antics and acrobatic performances were the signature of A.J. Green up until Week 16.  Jerome Simpson came in and reminded people less of his off-the-field woes and more of the player who ended the 2010 season on a high note. 

With a somersault and a landing in the end zone, Simpson possibly made the highlight of the year and showed why the Bengals still have something valuable in Simpson.

Benson Bombs

Cedric added to the rumors put forth by ESPN.com quoting Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer via Twitter that Benson is unlikely to be back next season.  Cedric did himself no favors fumbling twice in the fourth quarter — on two successive plays no less — making the game more than interesting and bringing back haunting memories of 2010.

Add 3 fumbles almost lost the prior week in St. Louis, Benson is looking mighty shaky these days.

Dynamic Duo: Big Red and Green Lantern

According to Fox Sports, Andy Dalton and A.J. Green became the first rookie quarterback wide-receiver tandem to have 3,000-plus passing yards and 1,000-plus receiving yards in the same year (and basically created together).

The future certainly is bright for the Cincinnati Bengals with these two on the field. 

It makes one wonder what the next draft will bring with two first-round picks in 2012.

Cautionary Kicking

While Mike Nugent has been stellar all season, Bengals' nation was reminded that the team cannot solely depend on the field-goal unit alone.  A 3-of-5 performance was a big reminder that as the weather gets colder, the Bengals will need to create more end zone and closer-to-end-zone opportunities on the road to the postseason.

Defensive Pressure

The defense played lights-out for three full quarters and in total amassed five sacks, seven tackles for a loss, 10 quarterback hits, three interceptions and 10 passes defensed.

It was another stellar performance, except for...

Defensive Prone

The Bengals offense certainly did not help in the fourth quarter, holding onto the ball for only four minutes and 52 seconds and fumbling twice on their half of the field.  Yet the defense lived down its reputation as well, giving up 208 yards —204 of which was passing— in the final frame to go with 11 first downs and 16 points on two touchdowns and a field goal (a two-point conversion failed on the second touchdown).

Another scary point about the Bengals is their ability to play all four quarters and keep the other team at bay.  While Arizona has been a fire-breathing comeback team of late, the Bengals were quite unlike the early-season team which played to the end and sputtered at the beginning.  Instead, the past three weeks have shown a team that seems to be short-handed late.

Wait a Second-Ary

Three interceptions by Maualuga, Clements and Nelson was a welcome result against yet another backup quarterback.  Nevertheless, Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals made things very interesting when his quarterback calmed down in the fourth quarter to create surgical strikes against the Bengals' glaring air-defensive weaknesses.

Little Luck Never Hurt

No, this is not a reference to Andrew Luck (thankfully, the Bengals do not need or want him). Yet what was lucky looked like something that was a classic Bengals experience over the last two-plus decades. 

On Arizona's second to last drive of the game, the Bengals' busted coverage left receiver Early Doucet wide open.  Cardinals quarterback John Skelton saw Early as open as a barn door and let the pass go, only to see Doucet trip and the Bengals not being the victim of their own bungle on the day.

Conclusion: Time To Put Up

The Bengals have a lot to be proud of and more to look forward to as they play for a postseason berth against division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, next week.

A.J. Green should only be better as his sprained shoulder continues to heal through the week.  The defense has more to learn from after a mostly positive performance.

Several topics for the offseason came up though (once again):

1. The running back of the future is not Benson or Scott....

2. The secondary needs more help. Pacman should do well with a full offseason, but still needs more help even assuming Leon Hall comes back 100 percent.

This team has a bright future but the light can be made even more apparent with a run into the postseason.