The Cincinnati Bengals stumbled to 0-7 on Sunday via a 24-10 loss to the previously two-win Jacksonville Jaguars.
Those Jaguars had a field day, rushing for 216 yards on a 4.9 per-carry average. For comparison, the Bengals managed 33 yards on a 1.7 average. The Cincinnati defense fought hard but was on the field for 38:17.
These are the winners and losers coming out of the loss.
Stud: Alex Erickson
Erickson had a career day and was clearly a big part of the plan early and often. He caught eight passes for 137 yards off his 14 targets, having no problems leading the team in the process.
Dud: Tyler Boyd
After a down week against Baltimore, Boyd had another forgettable afternoon with Jacksonville in town. He had a few notable early drops, then ran carelessly with the ball and fumbled later. He cleaned it up a bit but the Bengals needed more from their No. 1 and he finished the day with five catches for 55 yards.
Stud: Geno Atkins
Atkins had the slowest start to his career this year entering the game but quickly turned it around by feasting on a weak Jaguars line. He ended up drumming up two sacks on his way to a stellar day. Some of this can be chalked up to no threat of a running quarterback and the rest of the defense playing well on early downs. Either way — hard to complain.
Dud: Tony McRae
McRae was out there and the obvious weak link on a depth chart also boasting Darqueze Dennard and B.W. Webb. He was exploited early and often by Jacksonville’s game plan and let up the fourth-quarter touchdown.
Stud: Sam Hubbard
Hubbard has had some soft moments against the run since seeing an uptick in playing time, yes. But he came to play Sunday, getting involved on two tackles for loss and noticeably helping to shutter the Jaguars early.
Dud: Bobby Hart
Hart got thrown around a few times by Jaguars defenders in pass protection on a day Andy Dalton was sacked twice and hit numerous on numerous other occasions. At one point, he seemed visibly upset with Dalton himself, funnily enough. He also played a part in the team only rushing for 33 yards on 20 carries — 33 of those yards came from Dalton.
Dud: Andy Dalton
One could argue Dalton was putting up an admirable fight most of the day, taking big hits and even taking off as a runner when he could. But he imploded late, throwing three interceptions in five attempts. One of those was a miserable screen pass lofted up for anyone and the next one was forced right into a defender’s gut. He finished with a 22-of-43 line with 276 yards, one score and three picks.
