Cincinnati appeared to be a different team this week, coming closer to resembling the team they were last year. The defense played admirably, holding opposing quarterback Joe Flacco to under 50% completions and forcing 4 interceptions. The defensive line was noticeably more physical than they were in Week 1 and the defensive backfield provided excellent coverage. With the exception of one big miscue at the beginning of the second half, they played brilliantly.
The offense was a different story. Five times they began drives in Baltimore territory and they failed to come up with a single touchdown. Carson Palmer was inconsistent, allowing the ball to sail on him while he missed open receivers downfield. Chad Ochocinco was mainly a non-factor in a game where he became just the 30th NFL player to accumulate 700 career receptions.
The Bengals pulled off the rare feat of winning a game without scoring a touchdown. While it was a big victory for them, they will need to step things up on the offensive side of the ball the rest of the season in order to remain competitive against their tough schedule. Their next three games (at Carolina, at Cleveland, and home against Tampa Bay) are winnable, but they will need both their offense and defensive to be firing on all cylinders to put them in good position for the remainder of the year.
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