Cincinnati Bengals: 3 things we learned in Week 7 win over Ravens

With the Cincinnati Bengals making a statement on Sunday with their blowout 41-17 win over the Ravens, what did we learn about this team moving forward, and just how good is this football team?

3 things we learned about the Bengals win

1. Bengals are an excellent football team on both sides of the ball 

The Cincinnati Bengals played their best game of the season Sunday in the most important game up to this point. Scoring 41 points on the road against a very good Baltimore Ravens team was incredible.

Joe Burrow threw for 416 yards, Ja’Marr Chase had over 200 receiving yards and a score. Higgins, Boyd, and Uzomah, who scored twice, made big plays when they needed too and Mixon and Perine got the job done on the ground, which led to a successful offensive day and a huge statement win.

But let’s not discredit how well the defense played. For the first time in Lamar Jackson’s career, he was sacked five times. He had some success on the ground at times using his feet, but he had to grind and work with every yard he got.

In the fourth quarter, the Bengals defense had Jackson completely frustrated, which is precisely what they needed to do. They shut down the run game. They got stops when they needed stops, and they didn’t commit any penalties all game which alone will put teams in a great position to succeed.

Zac Taylor did a great job having this team ready to play, which is the standard now. This team is very good, and they need to set that same level of intensity each week and take care of the teams they should beat and compete with the good teams.

The Bengals are now 5-2 overall, first in the AFC North sitting at 2-0 in the division, and first in the entire AFC right now in front of the Tennessee Titans.

3 things we learned about the Bengals win.

2. Expectations and standard for this team should be to win the AFC North and compete for a Super Bowl. 

Making a statement against the Ravens was significant for the Bengals to show that they have arrived and aren’t the little brother in the AFC North anymore. They now have two road wins against the Steelers and the Ravens and have shown the rest of the NFL that this team is here to stay, which now means the standard for this team should be held higher.

Being competitive but losing is not an acceptable outcome anymore. It’s time for this team to compete with the best of them and win games against top-tier teams, and they are more than capable of handling that challenge.

This team is 5-2 and head to New York to take on the Jets next week, and those types of games are the ones the Bengals need to handle. Just like they did against the Detroit Lions.

Games against poor teams are the ones you need to take care of and get a W in the win column. Taking care of business is what good football teams do. Most of the NFL world knows what type of team the Cincinnati Bengals are now, and that is a team that can take the AFC North and a team that can compete with the alpha dogs in the AFC.

There is still a long way to go and a lot to prove for this team, but they are headed in the right direction and are starting to change the narrative.

3 things we learned about from the Bengals win.

3.  Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are one of the best QB/WR connections in the entire NFL. 

At first, this was just a young connection that was making some noise but still had a ways to go before you started considering them as one of the better duos. Still, it’s become such a common thing each Sunday now that you can genuinely make the case that Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are a top QB/WR connection in the entire NFL, even with Chase being a rookie wideout.

Chase went for over 200 yards on Sunday while being guarded by one of the best cornerbacks in the league in Marlon Humphrey. Then, he broke away for an 82-yard touchdown, making the fifth touchdown pass of over 30 yards that Burrow and Chase connected on.

Chase has 754 receiving yards trailing on Cooper Kupp for most in the league and is tied for second with Marquise Brown for receiving touchdowns with six.

Burrow and Chase haven’t surpassed the likes of Davante Adams/Aaron Rodgers, Tyreek Hill/Patrick Mahomes, or Kyler Murray/DeAndre Hopkins.

Still, they are slowly starting to creep their way into the conversation and considering it is only their first season together, the sky is the limit for this young duo, and they seem only to be getting better each week.

What did you learn in the 41-17 blowout victory?