Seahawks not the better team as they beat the Cincinnati Bengals 21-20 in Seattle
By Steve Rivera
The Cincinnati Bengals lose a tough one on the road as the Seattle Seahawks hang around long enough to win 21-20 in Week 1 action.
The Cincinnati Bengals played well enough to win in Zac Taylor’s debut, while the Seattle Seahawks found just enough to engineer a Week 1 victory 21-20. Andy Dalton, clearly the best quarterback on the field this afternoon, showed that a new offense will be something opposing teams will find hard to stop.
Cincinnati was in a good position to steal one on the road. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense sputtered out of the gate, leaving more than a few opportunities for the Bengals to secure a win early. However, some unfortunate turnovers and a missed field goal let Seattle hang around.
But all isn’t lost. I’ll be the first to say I thought Seattle would have an easy time with the Bengals at home. They didn’t. The second-best team in the NFC West struggled against a Cincinnati defense that had a lot of questions coming out of the preseason. Further, Dalton moved the ball with relative ease, posting some gaudy numbers. The veteran would go 35 of 51 for 418 yards, and two touchdowns.
The bigger question moving forward is if this is an indicator of things to come, meaning let’s go easy Bengals fans. Week 1 is now effectively the once traditional preseason game known as the “dress rehearsal game.” The Seattle offense looked clunky. Not something I’d count on in the weeks to come.
Taylor has a great offensive game plan. Dalton looked comfortable and in control. If the offensive line can find a way to break the rushing game lose, the Bengals will be a tough out. While I stand by my prediction of 4-12, Cincinnati could prove a nightmare for every opponent they face in 2019.
Character not an an issue for the Bengals. dark. Next
The Bengals face the San Francisco 49ers next week in their 2019 home opener. The Niners beat Tampa Bay on the road 31-17.