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Joe Flacco is not Aaron Rodgers. And the Cincinnati Bengals are not the Chicago Bears.
Thursday night, the Bengals were about to take a 21-point lead, but held on for an important division 34-23 win that raised their record to 2-0 and gave them the lead in the North. of the AFC – an advance that they will hang on at least until week 3.
Four days after Rodgers led the Packers to a 20-point win against the Bears, the Ravens were lucky to win the Packers. Against the Bengals, the Ravens fell in a first hole of 21-0, but continued to make their way into the match. With help from the Bengals, the Ravens took two steps forward, one step back, three steps forward, two steps back and another step forward until they almost crushed a team that asked to be caught. In the end, they just could not get enough time, because they are not good enough to do something like that.
At half-time, they conceded 28-14 after scoring a touchdown before the break. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, they were trailing by 11. With less than 10 minutes left, the deficit was reduced to five points. But it is at this moment that progress has stopped. The Bengals' attack finally managed to catch up on the pitch to qualify for eight points after six and a half minutes of play before letting his defender fight with a quarter who struggled through the night.
Flacco is not Rodgers, and the Bengals' defense has stopped. The Bears defense could not:
The Bengals would kick to put the game aside and they left with a victory that should have been an explosion, but turned into a nail. But it's still a victory.
Andy Dalton and A.J. Green combined for three touchdowns. Dalton threw four touchdowns in total. The Bengal defense put the Ravens in an early hole with a few saves and an interception. After resembling the Joe Flacco Elite against the Bills, Joe Flacco has resumed his appearance of Normal Joe Flacco. He made a first-choice decision that put the Ravens in the first hole, launched another second-half pick, snatched the Ravens' last-ditch chance late in the game and had the chance to end the night with just those three turnovers .
Week 2 is just beginning, but during a 17-week season, divisional contests in the NFL can often seem to be a type of playoff game, regardless of when they are entered in the calendar. The two teams do not like each other. Both entered the game with 1-0 records. Do not be surprised if they are fighting for an unlikely place in December. Again, it's early, but since both teams are in the same division as the Steelers, who tied the Browns in the first week, it was as important as the second week's matches .
For a period, the Bengals appeared to be a legitimate threat from the AFC. Dalton and Green were unstoppable. The defense made Flacco look like Flacco. Their offensive line, backed by rookie center Billy Price (who left the injured) and left forward Cordy Glenn, protected Dalton. Joe Mixon looked electric sometimes. The defensive line, with Geno Atkins, Carl Lawson and Carlos Dunlap, got Flacco. And then, the Bengals came back to look like another team before scoring a win.
The fact is that the Bengals were quite optimistic in the first half to be optimistic. A 2-0 start counts. Even if the Steelers beat the Chiefs on Sunday, the Bengals will lead a division before the third week. Nobody thinks the Bengals are a power, but the AFC is a conference that could send a team of 8-8 or 9-7. second joker. The Bengals are definitely in this mix with the Ravens, and they just beat the Ravens. It is important. If the Steelers lose a losing game against the Chiefs and the Browns do what they normally do against the Saints, the Bengals will have a 1 1/2 lead in the division. It matters too.
On the other side of the field, it is difficult to be optimistic about these Ravens. Yes, they beat the Bills 47-3 in Week 1, but the Bills could be the worst football team. After the first quarter, I was ready to start this article by pointing out how badly the Bills team should be if it lost 44 points against these Ravens, but the Ravens managed to make the game competitive enough to clear this version of the game article. So, at least they have that for them.
For the millionth time, it is only week 2. It is still too early to know more about these teams. But the Bengals and Ravens were still supposed to be fighting for a playoff spot, trapped in the same AFC squad. The Bengals won this battle Thursday night and, at the same time, they were the only team to show a glimpse of greatness. Victory matters. And the team we saw during the first 30 minutes could also be of importance.
Read on for seven more parts of the game.
1. Dalton and Green come out of the fire
Traditionally, prime time games are a nightmare for Dalton. The Bengals entered the night with a 5-14 record in prime time with Dalton as quarterback, according to Paul Dehner Jr. Cincinnati Enquirer. Someone had to convince Dalton that the night sky was nothing more than a mirage, because Dalton had lost his head in the first half.
In all, he completed 24 of 42 passes for 265 yards, four touchdowns, no choice and a score of 107.7. That was not all Dalton. The offensive offensive of the Bengals concerned just as much Green. At 13:02 of the second quarter, Dalton and Green had already accumulated three touchdowns, scoring alone a 21-0 lead.
Dalton's night began with a virtual choice in the end zone that was reversed after a brief review showed that The second foot of Eric Weddle is out of boundsbut took advantage of the extra opportunity, scoring with a four-yard touchdown at Green.
Congratulations to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor for designing the game. Clearly, the Ravens were going to be registered on Mixon, so Lazor left with game mistakes. Dalton gave him far too much time to find an open target and, let's face it. -It is impossible to keep a receiver of Green's caliber for so long.
Steve Sarkisian might want to steal this game for the Falcons.
In the next round, Dalton and Green hitched again to take the lead to 14 points with a tight draw in the traffic that Green took before exploding for a serious YAC.
Back to the Falcons comparison:
The Bengals rolled absolutely. This landing ended on a five-game, 80-yard run.
After a quick stop, the Bengals recovered the ball and started walking against the Ravens. They got help along the way – a penalty from Terrell Suggs extended their run into the red zone – before Dalton and Green came back for the hat-trick in the first period.
Green had never caught three touchdowns in a single game before, but he needed 17 minutes to do it against the Ravens. By the way, this was his last three shots until the last minute of the third quarter when he finally managed to catch a shot that did not give six points. He finished with five catches for 69 yards. It was a beautiful night of prosperity for Green, but there was a lot of boom.
The Ravens just could not stop the Bengals in third place. After reducing the gap to 14 points with a touchdown, they let the Bengals down on the field, converting a third and a half to the final, until Dalton passed his fourth touchdown pass in the first period. . This one went to Tyler Boyd, who beat his man underneath the cover and snuck into the end zone before the cover at the top could reach him.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Thursday was the second time Dalton made four touchdowns in a half and it was his first time since the 2013 season. That would be his last touch of the game, though.
At half-time, the Bengals led 28-14. That should have been 28-0, but the Bengals lost two assists that should have been chosen, which led to two Ravens touchdowns.
At the beginning of the second half, the Bengals lost all their effectiveness. They could not really run the ball. Green has stopped catching the affected. They left the Ravens in the game. Fortunately for the Bengals, the Ravens were not at all effective in their return, but they were content to reduce the deficit to five points. Finally, the Bengals' offense has helped rebuild a player – the kind of conduct that the Bears desperately needed Sunday night.
Up to five minutes, they took possession of the premises with just under 10 minutes to go. They did not give up possession until they burned six and a half minutes of play and pitched a goal on the field to extend their lead to eight points, which meant the Ravens needed to get the ball rolling. a touchdown and a two point conversion. to extend the game. Flacco fumbled instead, the Bengals kicked the field and the match ended soon after.
2. The nightmare of Flacco
Flacco generally hates playing Cincinnati as much as Dalton hates playing in prime time. By Thursday night, Flacco had thrown 19 touchdowns and 23 steals for a 72.3 mark in his career against the Bengals. His most recent performance will not help these numbers.
Flacco finished 32nd out of 55 for 376 yards, two touchdowns, two picks and a 76.0 rating. He was fired four times and lost a fumble. He missed open receivers for most of the night. His most effective method of attack was throwing deep balls into the field and hoping for interference penalties. In the process, he was lucky that the Bengals failed to catch two of those passes, both of which were eliminated by Ravens attacks.
All defenders of the Bengals have not dropped the ball. On the second Ravens series, Jessie Bates chose Flacco. According to NFL Research, Only one quarter, Eli Manning, has launched more choices than Flacco since 2013.
At the end of the first quarter, Flacco had more bags than finishes.
Flacco's prayers were answered in the second quarter when John Brown's 45-yard triple-cover float was not selected, ultimately allowing the Ravens to score on a Buck Allen touchdown run that pleased all
On the second round of the Ravens just before half-time, Flacco's deep ball was dropped again by a defensive Bengal defender. Four games later, Flacco was bailed out by an unending penalty that allowed him to gain 30 yards and put the Ravens on the 1-meter line.
And that's when Flacco launched his first touchdown match. Give him some merit for escaping the rush – which was on his face for most of the night – and create something out of nothing. If it is returned, the timer expires and the Ravens take 21 points at halftime. But Flacco was not sent back. He threw a touchdown instead.
The Bengals dashboard in the second half looked like this:
But it did not matter much when the Ravens dashboard in the second half looked like this:
- FG
- The socks
- INT
- TD
- grope
- End of Game
Give credit to the Ravens for this touch because it was special:
The Ravens had their chances of winning this match, as the Bengals' offense stopped moving the ball in the second half. But they lost because they did not commit a sufficient offense to do the kind of things that Rodgers does. In this sense, this loss does not rest entirely on Flacco. The way the defense started put the Ravens in a hole they would never get out of. It is not acceptable to give 28 points in one half.
But the Ravens deserve to be blamed for not taking advantage of their many opportunities to come back in the game. The sad truth is that, with Joe Flacco, they are not good enough to mount gigantic victories.
3. The defensive line of the Bengals is dirty
Again, do not just blame Flacco. He was under duress for most of the night.
It must be said that the defensive front of the Bengals is scary and is among the best units of the AFC. Atkins, Lawson and Dunlap all got Flacco. Atkins finished with two sacks, Lawson had a quarterback and Dunlap had one shot and three typing passes. The Bengals defense missed several chances to knock Flacco out, but she forced the last fumble in addition to a third quarter pick.
They should continue to torment the opposing quarters in the games and coming years.
4. The Bengals backfield is a handful
Mixon may well be the next big league forward, but Giovani Bernard could be one of the best substitutes. Against a defense that was ninth against the race last season, Mixon took 84 yards in 21 runs while Bernard had 27 yards in six races. Teamed together, the duo racked up 111 yards on the ground.
The depth of the Bengals is important. It is important that they can use both at the same time and it is important as this gives them a decent assurance in the event that Mixon is down. He injured his knee twice during the match and came back twice. His state of health deserves to be monitored, but the Bengals can rest knowing that they have a reliable backup and ready to bear the burden.
5. Crows lose C.J. Mosley to bone contusion
In the first quarter, second-row linebacker C.J. Mosley of the Pro Bowl was injured in the knee. At halftime, the team announced that he had a bone contusion.
Since 2014, Mosley has missed only two games possible and has collected 332 solo tackles, eight sacks and eight interceptions. This is not only that it is important for Ravens. 2018 is also the most important season of Mosley's career, as he is expected to become a free agent during the off season. The good news for the team and the players is that they have 10 days off until their next match.
6. Bengals lose Billy Price as a result of an ankle injury
The Bengals also lost a significant start in the first period. Recruit Center Billy Price left the game very early and was ruled out early in the third quarter with an injury to the ankle. He left the locker room carrying a boot.
Price, the No. 21 overall, was to improve an offensive line that ranked 24th as a blocking unit and 20th in pass protection last season, by football team. Like crows, Bengals have at least 10 days off before their next match.
7. what is next
No team can take advantage of the short week of a Thursday night game, but the reward is a mini farewell week. The Ravens (1-1) and the Bengals (2-0) will not play until September 23, when the Ravens will host the Broncos and Bengals will go to Carolina to face the Panthers. These are two winnable but difficult matches against teams with challenging defenses and potentially explosive racing games.
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