Believe it or not, the Cincinnati Bengals taking a loss to the Cleveland Browns over the weekend provided some rather important takeaways.
These lessons are critical primarily because it helps to paint a better picture of offseason needs, which in turn helps shape the talent-acquisition strategy in facets like the draft.
These are a few of those important lessons learned.
Andy Dalton isn’t it
Dalton had a brief spat with good play during the team’s first win of the season. He had several sharp passes and combined with simply winning a game, the performance helped to make his otherwise bad line (22 of 37) forgivable. Dalton’s line wasn’t much different in the loss to the Browns (22 of 38), except he didn’t have some of the sharpness of the prior week. On his latest pick-six of the season, he missed while throwing it too hard at Auden Tate, one of the team’s bigger targets. If nothing else, it was a strong reminder Dalton should be considered nothing more than a potential quality stopgap after taking a rooke in the first round.
Joe Mixon is the centerpiece
How great is Joe Mixon? Despite limited chances in the preseason, starting the season hurt and the terrible line in front of him, Mixon is well on his way to 1,000 yards rushing. His latest feat was perhaps his biggest performance of the year, rushing 23 times for 146 yards and a score on a 6.3 average against the Browns. The only thing that held Mixon back was the coaching staff. For at least the next year or so, it’s clear he’s the heart of the offense.
Nick Vigil is making a big comeback
Nick Vigil leads the Bengals in tackles but it wasn’t exactly a sign of much — before Sunday. Vigil was all over the field against the Browns, even recording an interception on a play he really had no business creating a turnover. He’s gone from a weakness to a strength in a matter of weeks, largely since the team moved on from Preston Brown. Now it becomes a question of whether the Bengals believe this is something Vigil can build upon and is worth reinvesting in next year as opposed to potentially blowing up the entire unit.
Zac Taylor and Co. still going through growing pains
Another week, more third down and redzone struggles and more questionable playcalling from the coaching staff. There isn’t a good excuse for a staff this late in the season to be going three of 12 on third downs and scoring just once on a handful of redzone trips. But near the goal line, Taylor and Co. opted at one notable point to take out Mixon and stick in shotgun looks, creating scenarios the Browns easily shut down. On one unforgettable attempt, Dalton himself checked into a draw up the middle and was promptly put down. It’s fair to say blocking hasn’t been great, among other excuses. But how Taylor draws it up in practice isn’t working during live action, especially on a short field where it seems almost unfathomable to take a weapon like Mixon off the field, never mind the lack of usage for guys like Tyler Eifert and Giovani Bernard. This isn’t pounding the table for a hot seat by any means — but there is little time left for this coaching staff to show it can improve.
