Cincinnati Bengals: Big takeaways from Preseason Week 3
By Kenn Korb
Big Plays Found?
As Cincinnati struggled to having the worst offense in terms of yardage last season, there were numerous culprits. A passing game which had one consistent option — and that option had a bad (by his standards) year. A running game with too many mouths to feed — and none of them capable of handling the No. 1 role on the level needed to sustain drives. An offensive line which became one of the league’s most inept and damaging units.
It may not have been as bad as those issues, but here’s one which also didn’t help matters: a lack of big plays. Last year, there were only three teams with less 20+ yard pass plays than Cincinnati’s 34 (Giants, Bears, Ravens). Their eight rushes of 20+ yards were better than only seven teams.
While this wasn’t the main cause for an unsuccessful offense, it definitely played a major role in the team’s struggles to accrue successful drives during a season where they were seventh-worst in terms of scoring (18.1 points per game).
This game against Buffalo may be a sign of that issue being put in the rearview. John Ross broke things open immediately with an intoxicating 57-yard touchdown reception where he not only burned past his defender but juked out two players post-catch to run freely into the end zone.
Mixon caught a 23 yard pass to on an eventual touchdown drive for the first-team offense. Tyler Boyd had two 20+ yard catches, each helping kick off field goal drives. Tyler Kroft and Alex Erickson each had one on separate field goal drives. Roster-bubble tight end Mason Schreck had two of his own as Cincinnati scored one final field goal and salted away the clock at the end.
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With this being preseason and the competition being a Buffalo team which may be among the worst in the league when 2018 comes to a close, these supposed gains in explosive ability should be taken with a large bucket of salt; once the games truly matter, these improvements may prove to be illusions. For now, they do stand as positive hope for a team which could use a decent dose of it to propel forward a franchise which is arguably stuck in neutral.