Bengals: 5 things we learned from Week 1 overtime win vs. Vikings

Not a Good Day for Eli Apple

Taylor wasn’t the only one who had a tough day at the office. In fact, the only guy who had arguably a worse day from a Bengals standpoint was Eli Apple, who was starting in place of the injured Trae Waynes.

Apple was… not good. And that’s putting it politely.

As Ben Baby noted during the game, there was one drive where Apple had a horrible missed tackle that allowed the Vikings to get a first down despite facing a 3rd-and-24, negated a sack due to a defensive hold, and got burned on a touchdown from Kirk Cousins to Adam Thielen. All on one drive. Oof.

Fortunately, Apple isn’t a part of this team’s long-term plans but still. It was a really bad day for the former first-round pick.

Ja’Marr Chase is Going To Be Fine

After dropping five balls this offseason, Ja’Marr Chase was getting heavily criticized by what felt like everyone. Most reasonable people knew it was way too early to be panicking because preseason games don’t count but at the same time, it was a bit concerning.

Chase definitely shut everyone up with his performance on Sunday though and there shouldn’t be anyone questioning what he can do in this offense. The rookie out of LSU finished his first NFL game with five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown with the touchdown coming off of a 50-yard reception.

Yeah, I’d say he’ll be fine.

What did you learn about the Bengals in their 27-24 overtime win?