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Bengals 20 Titans 16
The Bengals went on the road without Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Mixon, but they took their defense, Joe Burrow and a roster that continues to show off depth, and beat the Titans 20-16 Sunday in Nashville. The Bengals move to 7-4 on the season and have won 5 of 6. They become the first Bengals team to go unbeaten in November since 1982, per Zac Taylor.
Tied 13-13 early 4th quarter, the Bengals marched 6 plays/75 yards in 1:57 and took the lead when Tee Higgins boxed out his man at the goal line for a 27-yard TD catch to give the Bengals a 20-13 lead with 13-minutes left.
Up 20-16 with 6:07 remaining in the game, the Bengals got ball on their own 25. Trayveon Williams rumbled 16-yards and Tee Higgins high pointed a sideline catch of 29 yards. They had to settle for a McPherson 31-yard FG attempt with 1:57 that would have pushed the lead to seven, but the Titans were flagged for a personal foul on the FG snap (kick good). The penalty gave the Bengals a first down and they ran out the clock to victory.
The defense got physical from jump vs a trademark physical team and punched them.....holding Derrick Henry to a season low 38 yards on 17 carries and holding the Titans to two 2nd half field goals.
The Bengals overcame a number of early penalties and bad field position. 9 total penalties for 80 yards.
Final: Jaguars 28 Ravens 27....winning on two point conversion. Justin Tucker's 67 yard FG no good at the gun. AFC North: Ravens 7-4, Bengals 7-4.
Offense:
WR1: Tee Higgins 7 catches on 9 targets for 114 yards. 4th quarter: 4 catches/4 targets, 88 yards.......24-27-8-29, TD. Last three games: 23 catches, 30 targets, 322 yards, TD.
Go ahead TD drive: Trenton Irwin 16 yard catch.....Game sealing drive: Trayveon Williams 16 yard run.
Backer backing: 28 carries/108 yards (3.9)......Samaje Perine 17-58, TD. Perine has four TDs over the last two games. Williams 2-18. The two combined for 135 total yards of offense from Perine and Williams, including 32 yards on a screen to Perine.
Burrow: He was just 16 of 30, 158 yards and QB rating 68.5 going to the 4th. He then went 6 of 7, 112, TD the rest of the way. Connected w/ 7 different receivers. He has a TD pass in 18 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL (CBS). He had his 20th pass of the year batted down at the line.
He also rushed 9 times for 32 yards. Total: 22-37-270-TD, 1 sack, QB rating 91.0.
Sunday: 1 sack on 37 pass attempts
Playoff meeting: 9 sacks on 9 37 pass attempts.
Nice grabs: Hayden Hurts had a nice leaping/fingertip 29 yards grab and Williams a leaping 3rd and 12 snatch that Burrow scrambled and created. Early in the 4th quarter, Trenton Irwin made a heck of a back shoulder 3rd and 12 catch, the Titans challenged and lost.
Killer penalties: Chris Evans was called for OPI on the opening drive and I don't think was heard from, again. La'el Collins was called for a hold on 3rd and 1 on opening drive of 3rd quarter, blowing up a drive into field goal range.
Drive time: Trailing 10-3 in the 2nd quarter, the Bengals marched 9 plays/92 yards and capped it with a Perine 7-yard TD run.
That's three TD drives of 90+ in the last two games.
APB: Tyler Boyd had 2 catches on 4 targets for 16 yards. He was not targeted until the opening drive of 3rd quarter (he slipped/incomplete). He converted a 3rd and 5 for his first catch with 5:00 left in the 3rd quarter and went the tent for examination (concussion) but returned. He did not have a target into the 4th quarter last week.
Defense:
They brought the wood....big time sticks + 0 TD allowed in three red zone trips by Titans.
The King: Derrick Henry 17 carries, season low 38 yards, long of 9. Playoffs 20-62 (3.1)...long of 9. Last two games vs Bengals: 37 carries, 100 yards (2.7). Mike Hilton blitzed twice and hauled down Henry for no gain.
Bend, don't break: The Bengals led 13-10 late in the 3rd when Cam Taylor-Britt was beaten by Treylon Burks for a 52-yard catch AND Trey Hendrickson was called for roughing the passer. The Bengals D bowed up and forced a 23-yard FG and the game was 13-13.
Wild sequence: Henry took a 2nd quarter screen 70 yards and was stripped on a CTB hustle play. But Treylon Burks fell on the ball in the end zone for a TD.
He's really back: DJ Reader had an early and often impact, getting his hands on passes twice in the first half.
Big break: After the Bengals tied the game with 1:55 left in the half, the Titans promptly marched 58 yards to the red zone. But CTB had a nice goal line pass break up and Titans rookie kicker Caleb Shudak (replacing injured Randy Bullock) missed a 35-yard FG with :07 left in half. Big swing with Titans getting back to start 3rd quarter.
No TD for you! Titans entered the game scoring TD's 74% of red zone trips......reaching Bengals 15-17-6-20 yard line, but getting just 9 points.
PBU: Eli Apple had two nice pass break ups.
2nd half momentum: Sam Hubbard got a 3rd down sack on the opening drive of the 2nd half.
Special teams:
Three penalties on first three punt returns....Markus Bailey hold, Joe Bachie hold, Trey Flowers block in back.
Boomer: Dru Chrisman had a 62-yard punt from his end zone. He averaged 51.8 on 5 punts with a net of 43.4.
Money: Evan McPherson kicks of 47 and 38.