Good Old Bengals Show Up In Arizona

Aug 24, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard (25) is tackled by Arizona Cardinals inside linebacker Larry Foote (50) during the first half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

After the first half it was apparent that the Bengals offense had kinda fizzled out and the defense was doing most of the work. Last years Cincinnati Bengals reared their head, and for the offense the first quarter was ugly.

The defense had a pick six after Terrance Newman under cut Larry Fitzgerald to intercept Carson Palmer’s pass. They bent but refused to break and did not allow a touchdown. Their rush defense left something to desire and the pass defense should some big holes that would scare you against the pass heavy Pittsburgh Steelers or New Orleans Saints.

The offense left something to desire. The run was going no where and it left Giovani Bernard kept getting stuffed near the line and Jeremy Hill was not much better. The pass offense finally got underway with AJ Green and Mohammed Sanu taking short under 10 yard passes to get yards after the catch and first downs.

Andy Dalton was less than perfect on tonight with overthrows, but did not make many terrible decisions with only an intentional grounding call to his credit. He still left much to be desired for this offense.

Special Teams still is a work in progress. The opening kickoff was only returned to the 8 yard line, and there has been a few penalties that have hurt them with a holding call on a punt and a kickoff. They also had a rare offside penalty on the kickoff after a field goal. They must tighten this up if they expect to compete against the elite.

I was glad to see the Bengals offense come back down to earth before the season begins, to fix what looked to be almost perfect and handle adversity in the preseason to  prepare for the regular season. The defense will need to step up in order to stop some of the leagues best players, but they have been their before and have carried this team.