Cincinnati Bengals 23, New York Jets 22
Here are the top-graded players and biggest storylines from the Bengals’ 23-22 win over the Jets.
Quarterback grade: Andy Dalton, 75.0
Andy Dalton sacked on seven of 12 pressured dropbacks
Deep passing was the key to Dalton’s game, and although he did throw his interception on a downfield attempt, he was otherwise perfect on throws longer than 20 yards in the air from the line of scrimmage, going four-for-four for 189 yards and a touchdown on his other deep tosses. He also had a QB rating of 134.6 on the 21 dropbacks on which he didn’t face pressure, as opposed to just 47.7 on the 11 on which the rush threatened him.
Top offensive grades:
WR A.J. Green, 93.0
LG Clint Boling, 81.0
LT Andrew Whitworth, 79.3
WR Brandon LaFell, 77.6
TE C.J. Uzomah, 77.0
Eight of Green’s 12 grabs came when Revis was the primary man in coverage—this does not include the 54-yard touchdown on which Revis was also beaten, but shared blame with S Marcus Gilchrist, who had blown the coverage altogether. Brandon LaFell also had an excellent Bengals debut, catching all four of his targets, taking advantage of Jets CB Marcus Williams on both. The duo combined for 16 receptions on 17 targets for 271 yards and a score.
Top defensive grades:
CB Joshua Shaw, 84.8
DI Geno Atkins, 82.7
EDGE Carlos Dunlap, 77.2
S George Iloka, 76.9
CB Adam Jones 76.6
Margus Hunt enjoys best game of his career
It’s worth noting that, although Hunt wasn’t among the top five highest-graded Bengals on defense, he also had the key extra-point block, which turned out to be the difference in the game. Hunt also batted down a pass and registered a hurry, graded positively against the run, and did a solid job of protecting the edge throughout the game. Shaw was targeted four times, giving up one catch which went for no gain, and notched a key interception on a slightly-underthrown corner route from Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Ryan Fitzpatrick struggles in intermediate and deep passing levels
Quarterback grade: Ryan Fitzpatrick, 70.5
Fitzpatrick struggled when he had to throw with velocity, as the ball seemed to flutter out of his hand at times. This led to struggles in his intermediate and deep passing game, as he completed just four of 10 passes longer than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage. The fact that he only attempted one pass longer than 20 yard downfield is a bit of a tell as to where the Jets think Fitzpatrick's arm strength is right now.
Top offensive grades:
LG James Carpenter, 79.0
LT Ryan Clady, 78.8
RG Brian Winters, 77.8
C Nick Mangold, 77.6
WR Quincy Enunwa, 74.2
Jets' offensive line grades well across the board
Geno Atkins was the lone Bengal to reach Fitzpatrick, but his sack was a cleanup off a scramble, and not charged to the offensive line. In all, the Jets’ line was charged with six hurries, no sacks, and no hits, a stat-line that will likely be one of the best of the season against the Bengals’ loaded defensive line. In addition to solid pass blocking, both guards graded extremely well on run blocks, as they did an excellent job of controlling the line of scrimmage and scraping to Cincinnati’s linebackers.
Top defensive grades:
DI Leonard Williams, 82.7
LB David Harris, 79.7
S Calvin Pryor, 77.0
DI Steve McClendon, 72.6
EDGE Josh Martin, 70.5
Leonard Williams continues to impress
The Jets’ defensive line was outstanding on the pass-rush, as the threesome of Williams, McClendon, and Wilkerson combined for seven sacks, two hits, and three hurries. Each of the three had multiple sacks, with Williams doing the most damage with three sacks, two hits, and two hurries. A missed tackle against the run put him on the minus-side of the category, but he was still the clear star of Jets' defense.
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