Week in Review: Bengals Win Turnover Battle, Game in 34-13 Rout of Eagles
Dec 13, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver
Brandon Tate(19) carries the ball during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
At one point the Bengals announcer stated, “The Philadelphia Eagles have now had four turnovers in their last five plays. That’s almost impossible to do!”
That was the story of the night. Neither team played well on offense, and the Eagles defense actually had a very strong showing. For the Cincinnati Bengals, penalty yards, lack of offensive drives, and a slump in the middle quarters had Ohio fans thinking they might have to forget about the playoffs this year.
However, in came the Eagles to the rescue. Turnover after turnover on both the offense and special teams repeatedly gave the Bengals excellent field position. In fact, the Bengals had a dozen plays in Philadelphia territory to start the game.
There was a blocked punt, Leon hall had an interception and returned it for forty yards, and a high chip kickoff was fumbled by the Eagles’ special teams. Chris Crocker and Reggie Nelson added forced fumbles to their résumés. Pat Sims and Wallace Gilberry also combined for a strip and recovery of the pigskin in the Eagles’ backfield off of quarterback Nick Foles.
By the time the scoreboard favored the Bengals 34-13, Andy Dalton had only thrown for 92 yards and a single touchdown, and was 10-for-23 in his attempts. He finished the night 13-for-27 and 127 yards. He also ended the game with the one touchdown throw to A.J. Green in the fourth quarter.
Dalton also took an eleven-yard run into the end zone for the Bengals’ second touchdown in the third quarter. It came after Leon Hall’s interception return. The score of 34-13 went final as the Bengals simply ran the clock out with possession.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis had another big game on the ground, picking up 106 yards on 25 carries for the night. It was his fourth game in five tries that he’s broken the century mark. He also went over 1,000 yards on the season against the Eagles.
It’s a game the Bengals needed desperately to stay in the playoff race with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cincinnati will face their AFC North rival after a long week off now, and will certainly be pulling for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
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