It wasn’t the prettiest game of football I’ve ever seen, and there is still a lot of room for improvement, but the Cincinnati Bengals showed everyone that they are better than their first two games of the season. The offense continues to improve every week while the defense remains just as good as the beginning of the season.

Just as I had predicted, Paycor Stadium was electric, Sept. 29. The Bengals color rush uniforms paired with a new white tiger helmet was the best uniform I’ve seen since the color rush uniforms have started. Those uniforms, along with the endzones and logo painted white on the field and white towels given to fans, were one of the best parts of the game. 

Some other noise prior to this game regarded Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Last week against the Buffalo Bills, Tagovailoa got knocked over and he hit his head hard on the turf. After getting up, he stumbled a bit and had to be taken out of the game. It seemed pretty clear that he had a concussion, but he was cleared to play by an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant and returned to the game in the second half and helped lead his team to victory. Since it was a short week with the Dolphins playing on Thursday night, fans were wondering if he would be okay to play. The NFLPA launched an investigation into whether he should have played or not considering the footage of him stumbling. 

Game Recap:

The Bengals got the ball first and immediately went down 75 yards and scored a touchdown after nine plays, similar to last week’s game against the Jets. The offense went pretty quiet after that and didn’t score again until the last two minutes of the half, something quarterback Joe Burrow says needs to improve in weeks to come. 

The defense on the other hand wasn’t that quiet. They came out knowing there was a big task at hand with Tua at quarterback and wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill. Both receivers are extremely fast and Tua knows how to hit them in stride for big gains. He did just that in their first drive of the game, going 70 yards with two big throws to both Hill and Waddle, but they were unable to make it to the endzone and had to settle for a field goal.

Near the end of the first quarter, Bengals safety Vonn Bell intercepted Tua’s pass to Hill. Unfortunately, the offense was unable to capitalize off of the interception and ended up turning the ball over on downs after driving 47 yards. This was the second week in a row where the Bengals went for it on fourth-and-short and were unable to move the chains.

The defense gave up another field goal while the offense was still struggling to put points on the board. After a three-and-out by the Bengals, the Dolphins got the ball back, which is where things went south for the Dolphins. On the first play Tua was hit from behind and fell to the ground on what could’ve been painful to his back. Two plays later, he got sacked for a loss of 10 yards and hit his head again on the grass. His hands immediately flexed and fingers contorted, which has been reported as a “fencing response,” which can be linked to a brain injury. He was carted off the field and players and fans paid their respects as he was leaving. He was allowed to fly back home with the team that night.

Veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater came in for the Dolphins and helped keep their offense alive. He threw a pass for 16 yards, but wasn’t able to come up with anything else. The Dolphins had to kick a field goal, which was blocked by Jeff Gunter. The Bengals went down and scored on three quick plays. The Dolphins followed suit and scored a touchdown for themselves right before the first half ended, cutting the Bengals lead to two at 14-12.

The second half featured some boring football. It was a series of punts and field goals until Bell got his second interception of the night and returned it for 46 yards, giving the offense a short field to work with. This time, the Bengals capitalized and scored a touchdown, putting themselves up by 12 with about a minute left to play. Miami turned it over on downs and the game was over. 

Bengals win 27-15.

After the game, Joe Burrow was asked about his offensive line and how they played.  “Unbelievable”, Burrow said. “All day, protection was awesome. I had so much time in the pocket to find the guys I needed to find, and those guys are just going to keep getting better.” It is clear that they are getting better each week, as he was only sacked once on Thursday. Burrow was able to finish the game 20-of-31 for 287 yards and two touchdowns. 

Joe Mixon had another quiet night, only running for an average of 2.5 yards on 24 carries. If this offense can figure out how to get him rolling, they will be even more successful, and won’t be as reliant on Burrow’s arm to make big plays happen.

Tee Higgins was the leading receiver again with 7 receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown. Ja’Marr Chase was less quiet than usual with 4 receptions for 81 yards. This team has an elite group of receivers who are smart football players. I know they will be able to push this team into the playoffs this year as long as they keep working as hard as they have been. 

What’s Next:

Cincinnati Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens, 10/9 @ 8:20 pm EST on NBC