Cincinnati came up with their first win since Week 8, but it didn’t come without its imperfections.
Well, if you called for the Bengals to tank the rest of the season, they didn’t listen. Cincinnati kept its postseason hopes alive with a 30-16 win over the Raiders on Sunday.
It was the first time the Bengals won since late-October, as they ended a deplorable 1-7 stretch. Even so, the win wasn’t without warts. Here are the winners and losers from the Bengals in Week 15.
Winners:
Joe Mixon: The second-year running back had his career-long run in 47 yards in the first half and inched his way closer to his first 1,000-yard rushing season. Mixon finished with his second consecutive 100-yard rushing game and his second touchdown clinched the win.
Tyler Boyd: What a season for the third-year receiver. While the stats weren’t eye-popping on the day because he left the game early with a knee injury, he eclipsed 1,000 yards on the season and scored a touchdown.
Boyd’s 1,000-yard season is the first by a Bengals receiver not named A.J. Green since Chad Johnson in 2009. He will likely be a guy the team looks to extend this offseason, let’s just hope the injury that ended his game in the second quarter isn’t serious.
Marvin Lewis: The defense he took over a few weeks forced two turnovers, while also garnering four sacks and spearheaded the rout by the team. Over the past two weeks, the Bengals have played inspired football, which was a stark contrast from the previous month and a half.
While the Bengals’ win doesn’t do them any favors in terms of draft positioning, the team’s trademark late-season surge with the year out of control helps Lewis. Might some late wins save his job for 2019?
Darqueze Dennard: While the Oakland passing attack isn’t the most potent in the league, Cincinnati’s defense held strong throughout the game. Dennard was particularly active, knocking down a pass while providing exceptional coverage and recovered a Jalen Richard fumble.
Sam Hubbard: Talk about rookie-on-rookie crime. Hubbard beat the Raiders’ first-round pick Kolton Miller multiple times and ended up with two sacks and a forced fumble. He has six sacks on the year and has been a nice find in the third round.
Geno Atkins: After disappearing for a stretch of games, Atkins ate the Raiders’ backup guards alive. He had six total tackles and three sacks, giving him 10 on the year.
Losers:
Alex Redmond: Early in the game, Redmond had a false start penalty to stall out their first drive. He was part of a unit that paved the way for Mixon’s 100-yard rushing day, but the struggles up front continue to point to the potential need for Christian Westerman.
C.J. Uzomah: For how many times Uzomah was targeted on the day, just one catch for 27 yards was a pretty poor output. Some of it was due to errant Jeff Driskel throws, but others rattled off of his hands for incompletions. In this case, a “loser” is more akin to “a tough day at the office.”
John Ross: In this game, Ross had more block-in-the-back penalties (two) than catches (one). Ross has stepped up in the way of scoring touchdowns lately, but failed to take advantage of a beleaguered Raiders defense. He accounted for just nine total yards on two touches.
Jeff Driskel: As mentioned when talking about Uzomah, a lot of the overall struggles on offense came with Driskel’s inconsistent play. The team’s backup quarterback finished 14-of-33 for 130 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception.
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