Beating Raiders lifts Bengals’ confidence
For three and a half quarters, Ho met Hum in the city that never sleeps. The Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders were no more impressive than Fred and Maude from Dubuque, drinking watery Bacardis-and-coke and pumping coins into slots.
With less than a quarter to play, Cincinnati led 16-13, and you were thinking, “a win is a win” and starting to ponder Pittsburgh's visit the next Sunday.
Then, midway through the fourth quarter, the Bengals came up with a 12play, 62-yard skull-crusher of a drive. It began with a few tenderizing runs by Joe Mixon and ended with a perfectly feathered touchdown pass from Joe Burrow to Ja'marr Chase.
That made it 22-13 with 6:39 left. The way the Raiders were playing offense, that lead looked as good as an inside straight. And it was. We won't proclaim the drive will define the rest of the Bengals season, or even jumpstart it. We proclaimed something similar after Baltimore. It didn't work out so well.
But the drive suggested a few nice things about the Bengals. Given the current, bedraggled state of the AFC North, a few nice things might be all that's required.
Before the drive:
Worry about Burrow being eaten alive by Vegas defensive ends Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue. Worry about an offense whose MVP was the placekicker. Evan (The Leg) Mcpherson was historic and fantastic, but field goals don't win championships. Worry about an overemphasis on the running game. Until Mixon went off in the second half, he was good for two yards a carry, and he carried a lot.
After the drive:
Look at Mixon, wearing the Las Vegas defense down and out. Watch Mixon
and the offensive line combine to produce 70 plays, to the Raiders' 47.
Look at Burrow, making money throws. He didn't have a great game, but when he needed it, he made a great pass over the Raiders' zone and into the hands of Chase in the back left corner of the end zone. Burrow's pedestrian numbers — 148 passing yards, 5 yards per attempt and his first TD pass in eight quarters — came against a stout Raiders pass D, with the defensive ends whispering sweet nothings in his ear.
And finally, consider the Bengals after Sunday. The only healthy team in the North won convincingly on the road over a decent opponent. Then check out the Ravens, decimated and limping to a win over the Bears. And the Browns, somehow beating Detroit with Baker Mayfield's parts held together by Gorilla Glue. And Pittsburgh, hoping it's 2009 and Ben Roethlisberger is 27, not 127.
If the Bengals want to win the North, well, here it is. Right here. “All in front of them,” as they like to say.