The Cincinnati Bengals don’t have many positives to take out of Sunday’s 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A new era has gone up in flames as Sunday’s loss cements the worst start in franchise history. Of the many problems displayed in the latest loss, there were a few bright spots. Let’s highlight those and the biggest negatives.
Winner: Tyler Boyd
Boyd had some complaints last week after his one-catch performance and they were certainly understandable — there’s no excuse to not spam him with targets. Ryan Finley seemed to learn this, as Sunday Boyd saw nine targets, which he turned into five catches for 101 yards and a score. He had a fumble in the fourth quarter, but this is what happens when stars on bad teams try to do too much.
Loser: Alex Redmond
Redmond looked like the starter at left guard over Billy Price before he apparently suffered an injury setback in warmups. Price had a back injury of his own but Redmond’s issue was serious enough he didn’t get on the field. He’s running out of time to prove to the Bengals he can be a long-term solution.
Winner: Joe Mixon
Once again, Mixon emerges as one of the biggest winners. He’s giving it his all and flashing some of that elite potential on special runs. But his biggest gains are reversing field away from the play design or turning a negative into a positive. He’s getting no help. Those 79 yards on 18 carries might not sound impressive on the stat sheet — but those who watched know it is.
Loser: Bobby Hart
More problems for Hart. Finley suffered four sacks on the day and Hart had a notable false start in the fourth quarter, his fourth of the year. That one came after a big completion when it looked like the offense was finally grabbing some momentum.
Winner: Carlos Dunlap and Carl Lawson
One of the team’s only bright spots is the sudden ability to generate pressure again. And much of it has to do with Dunlap and Lawson finally getting healthy together. Lawson was around the Steelers quarterbacks all day and so was Dunlap, especially notably late.
Loser: Ryan Finley
This is probably it for Finley. The coaching staff won’t say so or make a change because going back to Andy Dalton isn’t really viable for a number of reasons. But Finley’s arm strength was once again awful. He flirted with turnovers on a fumble and finished with 12 completions on 26 attempts with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Loser: Coaches
Lou Anarumo’s defense remains a mess. Kerrith Whyte, a no-name back, gained 43 yards on six carries. Devlin Hodges, a third-string quarterback, came in and threw for five completions, 118 yards and a score. And as for Zac Taylor, his offense was once again lost, going two of 12 on third downs with just 192 passing yards. One weird example was Alex Erickson getting eight targets while Tyler Eifert had just one.
