It started ugly, but the Cincinnati Bengals opened up the offense in the second half of Thursday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and the result never felt in doubt once it did.
Joe Burrow threw for 348 yards and two scores on a 25-of-32 line, earning him an 87.7 grade at Pro Football Focus. He graded at a 90.3 just days earlier in a win over Pittsburgh after failing to record a grade above 70 in each of his first two games this year.
Burrow’s overall grade from Thursday was only surpassed by tight end C.J. Uzomah, whose two touchdowns helped him earn an 88.2 grade. He caught the game-winning play that Burrow checked to at the line of scrimmage.
In total? Six offensive players graded at an 80.1 or better and nine were at 70 or better.
Since the offensive line is always a focal point, here’s how the starters graded out in the overall category:
- Jonah Williams: 81.9
- Quinton Spain: 80.3
- Trey Hopkins: 57.5
- Jackson Carman: 29.8
- Riley Reiff: 69.2
Keep in mind that’s overall grades. Hopkins almost had a team-best mark in pass-blocking, while Reiff was superb in run blocking. Carman’s game felt much better on a live viewing than it did in the grades here.
As for the defense, Trey Hendrickson leads the way at a 77.9. Eli Apple is the only major surprise with a 76.9 overall grade and a team-high 80.9 coverage grade.
