With the Bills and Chiefs playing so well this season, the Bengals have slowly become a forgotten contender in the AFC, but against the Falcons on Sunday, the defending AFC champions let the rest of the NFL know they are still one of the best teams. in the competition.
The Bengals are at their best when Joe Burrow brings his “A” game, and Burrow certainly brought his “A” game on Sunday. Joe Cool threw for 481 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant 35-17 home win over the Falcons.
Burrow’s passing total was the highest in the NFL this year, the second-highest total in his career and the third-highest total in franchise history (he set his team and career record in 2021 when he threw for 525 yards against the Ravens).
The thing that makes the Bengals offense so dangerous is that they can score anywhere on the field, and Burrow proved that when he hit Tyler Boyd for a 60-yard touchdown with his third pass of the game.
When it comes to scoring on the deep ball, no team is better than the Bengals. That pitch marked the 12th time in the past two seasons that Burrow has thrown a TD pass of 50 yards or more. To put that in perspective, no other quarterback has done that even eight times. When it comes to catches of 50 yards or more in the past two seasons, no one is better at scoring long ball than Ja’Marr Chase (6) and Tyler Boyd (4), who are one and two in the NFL. .
Chase added nothing to his tally on Sunday, but he did score two touchdowns, both of which were over 30 yards. During the first game of the second quarter, Burrow Chase threw an absolute dime going for a 32-yard touchdown:
Chase also caught a score of 41 yards in the game on a day when he finished with eight catches for 130 yards. Not to be outdone, Boyd surpassed Chase’s receiving total by 155 yards on eight catches.
The Bengals fell just seven yards short of having THREE different receivers who finished with over 100 yards. Tee Higgins caught five passes for 93 yards in the game. And this is what makes the Bengals attack so dangerous: When all three receivers are healthy, this offense is nearly impossible to stop. If you throw in Hayden Hurst (six catches for 48 yards), Joe Mixon (three catches for 33), and a slowly improving offensive line, the Bengals look better and better every week.
The Bengals have flown under the radar for the first seven weeks of the season and to be honest they probably think so. The defending conference champion usually has a target on his back the following season, but somehow that target ended up on the Bills and Chiefs in a season where the Bengals are just rolling out quietly.
After a slow start to the season, the Bengals offense has finally taken hold, making Cincinnati one of the scariest teams in the NFL, and being scary suits this team — their next game is on Halloween.
Okay, let’s look at the numbers for each game from week 7. If you’re looking for a deeper dive into the Cardinals’ wild 42-34 win over the Saints played on Thursday, click here.
Cincinnati 35-17 over Atlanta
Falcons-Bengals Numbers by John Breech (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Washington 23-21 over Green Bay
Packers-Commanders Numbers by John Breech (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Carolina 21-3 over Tampa Bay
Buccaneers-Panthers Numbers by John Breech (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Baltimore 23-20 over Cleveland
Browns-Ravens Numbers by John Breech (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Dallas 24-6 over Detroit
Lions-Cowboys Numbers by Jared Dubin (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Tennessee 19-10 over Indianapolis
Titans-Colts Numbers by Jordan Dajani (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
NY Giants 23-17 over Jacksonville
Giants-Jaguars Numbers by Jeff Kerr (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Las Vegas 38-20 over Houston
Texans-Raiders Numbers by John Breech (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Seattle 37-23 over LA Chargers
Seahawks-Chargers Numbers by John Breech (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
Kansas City 44-23 over San Francisco
Chiefs-49ers Numbers by Cody Benjamin (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)
NY Jets 16-9 over Denver
Jets-Broncos Numbers by Shanna McCarriston (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let her know on Twitter.)
Miami 16-10 over Pittsburgh
Steelers-Dolphins Numbers by John Breech (Love the numbers? Hate the numbers? Let him know on Twitter.)