NFL Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals’ Third-Quarter Season Grade

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By @julieswartz86

Cincinnati Bengals Third Quarter Grade

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

After a solid win over the Houston Texans in Week 12, the Cincinnati Bengals currently sit at 7-4-1, with sole possession of first place in the AFC North. They are on a two-game winning streak, and will head to Tampa Bay in Week 13, which should be another win under their belt. They will need to keep this momentum going if they have plans to enter the playoffs, especially being in such a competitive division.

Overall, the Bengals have had a very up-and-down season, and the crazy thing is they usually either look really good or really bad. They’ve had some impressive victories so far, including a season sweep of the division rival Baltimore Ravens. They’ve also had some horrific losses, being shut out 27-0 by the Indianapolis Colts and losing 24-3 to the Cleveland Browns. It makes you wonder which team is going to show up each week.

QB Andy Dalton has become a source of frustration and confusion for Bengals fans. Sometimes he looks like the franchise quarterback the Bengals signed, then other times he just falls apart. His touchdown-to-interception ratio proves this, as he’s thrown 12 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the season. If he plans on leading his team to the Super Bowl this year, which is an expectation for this team, his numbers will need to improve.

The running game, on the other hand, has been rather impressive between Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. Even when Bernard was out with an injury, Hill didn’t miss a beat, picking up right where he left off. That’s called having adequate depth in the backfield, which will definitely be a key to this team’s success down the stretch.

The major element that needs to improve in the Bengals’ game is their rushing defense. They are currently ranked 27th in the NFL against the run, which will not be good enough to win big games down the road. They did a nice job against the Texans last week, holding Alfred Blue to only 46 yards on the ground, so hopefully this is a sign of things to come for this defense.

Thanks to some impressive defensive play and increased offensive consistency, the Bengals seem to have found some light as of late. This improvement in their game is coming at a good time, because they will need to finish out the season strong to stay atop their division. The other three teams in the AFC North all have a 7-4 record and are right on the Bengals’ heels. Every game counts from here on out, which should make for an exciting rest of the season.

If it were a few weeks ago, I would have graded the Bengals way lower as they were going through a rough patch of inconsistent and poor play. But with their sudden improvement over the last two weeks, and their position atop the division, I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

Bengals’ third quarter grade: B+

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