Studs
Joe Mixon, Running Back
Another week, another game of being underutilized for Joe Mixon. With a backup quarterback stepping in, the Bengals still decided to throw the ball all over the field. Mixon was shredding the vaunted Denver defense when he was given the ball. Cincinnati stopped giving the ball to him as soon as they went down by only a touchdown. They did start to feed him again towards the end of the game but it was too late at that point. Mixon averaged 6.8 YPC on 12 carries for 82 yards. How does a team not feed a player running like that in a relatively low scoring contest?
Carlos Dunlap, Defensive End
While he didn’t register a sack, Carlos Dunlap was causing chaos all afternoon for the Broncos offensive line. The defense as a whole was better than it has been but still was gashed by undrafted rookie running back Phillip Lindsay for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dunlap was the lone standout from that defensive performance. He brings energy to the defense that they desperately need. Most of the passing plays were spent in the backfield for Dunlap.
Honorable Mentions:
- Jeff Driskel – Driskel stepped into a bad situation with star wide receiver A.J. Green out with injury and performed admirably.
Duds
Offensive Line
The injury bug has made its’ way to the offensive line. Starting left tackle Cordy Glenn has been out with an injury the last two weeks. Then, his back up, Jake Fisher, also suffered an injury which led to left guard Clint Boling moving out to tackle like he did last year. Boling struggled mightily against rookie pass rusher Bradley Chubb, who has been on fire the last few weeks. The interior played well in the run game but struggled as pass protectors. Right tackle Bobby Hart played better than I expected but still was beaten up on by All-Pro Von Miller more often than not.
Run Defense
The entire defense was to blame for the huge day put up by Lindsay. The defensive line was blown off the ball and allowed huge holes to be opened up. The running lanes that were created allowed Lindsay to get to the second level because the linebackers couldn’t fill like they are supposed to. Bad angles and poor tackling described the day for the linebackers and secondary alike.
Kenny Guthrie is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage Bengals. Like and follow on Follow @guthrie26 Follow @FPC_Bengals