Bengals Decimate Raiders in 33-13 Victory

Sep 13, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert (85) runs with the ball after making a catch against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

I have to admit–three hours ago, I was a little scared. I mean, the Bengals were playing a season opener on the road; Cincinnati has struggled in road openers in the past. But wow, how wrong was I? The Cincinnati Bengals wore the Raiders down to a 30-0 lead and ended the game with a 33-13 score, establishing itself on top of the AFC North as the only team with a 1-0 record.

Cincinnati looked great from the first two drives of the game, forcing a three-and-out and responding with a six minute, 11-play touchdown drive. Andy Dalton picked apart the Raiders defense with ease, and Jeremy Hill gashed through the defense like he was playing against a college football team–and that’s impressive, considering that Oakland’s defense has one of the league’s best run-stopping nose tackles in Dan Williams and linebackers in Khalil Mack.

Hill scored two of Cincinnati’s touchdowns while Tyler Eifert, a potential Pro Bowl candidate, scored the other two. Mike Nugent tacked on two field goals. With that, let’s get into the positives and negatives at each position, starting with the offense.

Next: Offense