Bengals at Jets: 3 things we learned

A storied Week 1 performance by Bengals receiver A.J. Green lifted Cincinnati in a 23-22 in what was one of the four games this week that finished with a one-point margin.

Here are three things we learned from the Bengals at Jets:

1. Darrelle Revis struggled, but ease the breaks on the criticism

Many fans will overreact to the so-so performance Revis had on Sunday. Per Pro Football focus, when guarding Green, Revis gave up every single catch thrown his way. Dalton was eight-for-eight for 100 yards and a touchdown when targeting Green who was covered by Revis. Per Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Revis is out of shape due to poor workouts in Arizona during this past offseason.

He’s 31 now, and it’s been seven years since his 2009 historic season. While his play on Sunday may have some cause for concern, there’s no need for a panic frenzy this early in the season.

On this play against Green, the Jets appear to be in a cover three zone. Meaning Revis is responsible for a third of the field, on the right. Green runs a deep post route, sprinting down the middle of the field.

The Jets’ free safety on the play, Marcus Gilchrist, is responsible for the deep middle of the field, but for whatever reason he shoots up and Green runs right past him.

On this go route, Revis is in perfect position to defend Green but nobody, not even Revis, can cover a perfect pass and catch like the one Dalton and Green make here. Combined, these two plays accounted for 86 of the 100 yards Green totaled on Revis.

2. A.J. Green can catch a football

Well, you just saw two spectacular plays of Green on Sunday. He had 10 more, finishing the game with 180 yards receiving on 12 catches and a touchdown. In fact, Green was targeted 13 times, so Dalton hit him on every target but one. The Bengals lost Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu in the offseason, but Green picked up all the slack and led the Bengals to a big Week 1 victory.

The Bengals endured an offseason with quite a bit of change, including the loss of offensive coordinator Hue Jackson to Cleveland. In spite of this, Dalton and Green were still able to take the keys and run out of New York with a W.

3. Despite being 30, Matt Forte can still ball

Wait, I thought running backs were supposed to decline when they turn 30? Not so fast. It was only his first game as a Jet, but Matt Forte was basically 47 percent of the Jets offense on Sunday. While he didn’t have any breakaway runs, Forte was a valuable asset for the Jets offense versus the Bengals. He had 22 carries and finished with 96 yards rushing.

Receiving wise, it was screen plays like this that helped Forte accumulate 59 yards receiving.

Offensive coordinator Chan Gailey relied heavily upon Forte Sunday. Backup running back Bilal Powell had just four carries but took advantage of each one of them as he averaged 10.3 yards per carry.

Next: Bengals at Jets Recap

It’ll be intriguing to see what role Forte plays on this offense throughout the rest of the season.