Washington Redskins 27, Cincinnati Bengals 27
Here are the highest-graded players and biggest takeaways from the Redskins' 27-27 tie in London with the Bengals.
Quarterback grade: Kirk Cousins, 78.0
Cousins avoids major mistakes in tie
It’s never easier dropping back to throw 56 times in a game, so credit to Cousins for avoiding any major mistakes (even his pick was essentially a punt) as the team went pass-heavy. He was helped with some good work after the catch, but he was impressive enough working at all levels of the defense, with eight completions on passes thrown over 10 yards in the air.
Top offensive grades:
LT Trent Williams, 79.8
TE Vernon Davis, 79.7
TE Jordan Reed, 79.0
C Spencer Long, 78.4
RT Morgan Moses, 78.4
Offensive line performs well versus Cincinnati's defensive front
It's not a surprise that three linemen are among the team's top offensive performers, with the unit doing a very good job of keeping their quarterback clean and allowing him to work through his progressions. The ever-excellent Trent Williams led the way with a flawless day in pass protection, but the line as a whole only gave up 10 pressures, with guard Shawn Lauvao the weak link. Those tight end grades indicate what a dangerous duo they’re developing into, with a resurgent Vernon Davis teaming with the matchup nightmare Jordan Reed.
Top defensive grades:
LB Ryan Kerrigan, 81.8
LB Sua Cravens, 80.3
DT Chris Baker, 79.7
S Duke Ihenacho, 79.6
DT Anthony Lanier, 77.0
Josh Norman loses one-on-one battle with A.J. Green
Washington had some good performances up front, led by Ryan Kerrigan, who caused Cedric Ogbuehi all sorts of problems. In the matchup of the day, Josh Norman had a tough outing covering Bengals star WR A.J. Green. Norman was flagged for five penalties, letting Green get behind him on a number of occasions, and dropping three catchable interceptions when he did make a play.
Quarterback grade: Andy Dalton, 43.3
We’ve seen a lot of good Andy Dalton this year, but today his alter ego made his first real appearance of the season. He failed to truly take advantage of Green having the number of all the Redskins defensive backs, throwing three balls that should have been picked (he was fortunate only one was) and then fumbled away any chance the team had of winning. He’ll want to put this game in the rear-view mirror as quickly as possible.
Top offensive grades:
TE Tyler Eifert, 92.7
WR A.J. Green, 85.1
LT Andrew Whitworth, 84.5
C Russell Bodine, 78.9
LG Clint Boling, 74.1
Green and Eifert find success against Washington's pass defense
Imagine what kind of damage the Bengals' skill-position players could have done had their quarterback been playing at his usual level. The top two receiving threats on this team — WR A.J. Green and TE Tyler Eifert — both had triple-digit yardage games, with Green especially impressive. He conclusively won his battle with Josh Norman and his numbers on the day really don’t do justice to how well he played.
Top defensive grades:
DT Geno Atkins, 83.6
LB Vincent Rey, 77.8
LB Vontaze Burfict, 75.7
S Shawn Williams, 69.5
LB Karlos Dansby, 68.1
As good as Geno Atkins has looked all year, he got better and better as this game went on. The worry for the Bengals is nobody else shouldered any of the burden up front, as it was too often the case that Kirk Cousins had an age to work through his progressions. The bye week might also provide the opportunity to work on some fundamentals, with 14 missed tackles a number that isn’t going to help the Bengals win games.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Bengals WR A.J. Green
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