The Cincinnati Bengals took down the Minnesota Vikings in their first game of the 2021 season and boy, was it a fun one or what? Not only did the Bengals win 27-24 in overtime but they mostly looked good doing it.
Yes, there were some negatives from this game, but let’s not focus too much on that. This is meant to be a positive piece celebrating the win. We’ll harp on Zac Taylor’s dumb decision on another day.
For now, let’s take a look at six Bengals who stole the show with their Week 1 performances.
6. Jessie Bates
Expect to see Jessie Bates on this list each and every week. He’s a star safety in the league and why the Bengals haven’t extended him yet is beyond me.
Putting that aside, though, Bates had arguably the biggest and most important play on defense in the season opening win. During overtime when it looked like the Vikings were going to kick the game-winning field goal and win the game, Bates stripped the ball out of Dalvin Cook’s hands and the Bengals recovered.
From there, we know what happened.
The Bengals might not win this game without Bates’ clutch ability to pry the ball out of Cook’s hands. Thanks again, Bates!