Cincinnati Bengals emerge as legit AFC contenders
Don’t look now, folks, but the Cincinnati Bengals are for real.
Three games into the season, Marvin Lewis’ squad remains undefeated atop the AFC North, sporting dominant units on both sides of the ball.
And here’s how …
The Bengals are winning — quite handily, at that — by playing smart, well-schemed football, led by its oft-criticized quarterback Andy Dalton, who has effortlessly silenced his many critics (including yours truly) by turning in near flawless outings.
Dalton has completed 65.5 percent of his passes, thrown for 722 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, doing so with No. 1 receiver A.J. Green hampered by a toe injury. That Dalton has only committed one turnover is huge considering his mistake-filled postseason of 2013.
He’s also getting a big boost from his running game, anchored by second-year stud Giovani Bernard, who’s already found the end zone three times. By far the biggest surprise, however, has been rookie running back Jeremy Hill. The LSU product has rushed for 132 yards on only 26 carries (5.1 yards-per-tote) and scored two touchdowns.
Before the season, first-year offensive coordinator Hue Jackson iterated time and time again that the offense would operating with a run-first mentality. He’s certainly kept his word to this point, and the strategy was fully on display last Sunday, when Bernard and Hill carried the team to a 33-7 blowout win over the Tennessee Titans.
Dalton and Co. are in control of a unit that ranks in the top 15 of four major offensive categories — points (26.7, sixth), total yards (384.0, seventh), and passing yards (passing yards, 262.3, ninth). Even with defenses routinely stacking the box with eight or nine defenders, the offense ranks 15th in rushing yards, averaging 121.7 per contest.
On the defensive side, where Lewis makes his bones, the Bengals field the NFL‘s best unit — statistically, anyway. They rank first in points allowed (11.0), and have faced some decent offenses (Ravens, Falcons, Titans). They rank 17th and 18th against the pass and run, respectively. That might not seem that great, but consider that opposing offenses rank up yardage in garbage time, with the game well out of hand.
But enough of boring you with numbers. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Here’s a sampling of NFL power rankings as of Week 4, gathered from several different sources.
From Bleacher Report, where the Bengals come in at No. 4:
"Dalton is the key to how far Cincinnati goes, but he’s never had a deeper stable of talent to play with. The Bengals are going to be dangerous the rest of this season."
From FoxSports.com, where they rank No. 2:
"The Bengals have an identity that they stick by and they are very good at what they do."
From CBSSports.com, where they rank No. 1:
"They head into the bye at 3-0 behind a defense that has really impressed. The creativity on offense has been good the first three weeks."
From the Washington Post, where they rank No. 1:
"… They haven’t missed a step and they’ve been impressive in winning their first three games by a wider margin each week."
And, finally, from NFL.com, where they rank No. 1:
"Cincinnati earned the top spot by virtue of having a defense that allows just 11 points per game, a quarterback who has made few mistakes and isn’t asked to put everything on his shoulders and a running attack that is grinding out 121.7 yards per contest."
I find it interesting that NFL.com used the hashtag #2013Seahawks2.0 in its writeup for Cincy. That is, a competent quarterback, dominating running game, and a swarming defense. Seemed to work for out Seattle.
So why did I make you read those writeups? To prove it’s not just silly old me who feels this way. The Bengals — who’ve been mired in mediocrity in recent years, failing to get over the Wild Card hump — are establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with. And it’s time everyone, from fans to media to teams themselves, took notice.
Now, we all know Lewis’ track record. In 11 seasons, he’s qualified for the playoffs five times, failing to secure a single victory. To put it in perspective, “In Da Club” was the No. 1 song in the country the last time Cincinnati won in the postseason. That’s not good, and a major stain on an otherwise impressive tenure.
If you asked me, however, I’d tell you the drought ends this year. I can’t promise that they’ll take home the Lombardi Trophy in February, but I can confidently say they’ll be playing deep into January.
They have the formula, they’ve, up to this point, proven it works. Now all they have to do is sustain it for the rest of the season.
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