A big congratulations to those who stayed on the Cincinnati Bengals hype train all throughout the 2021 season. An even bigger congratulations to these five players from Week 17’s triumphant win.
Week 17 was a bit of a doozy with so many unbelievable things happening at the same time, but the gist of it is: the Bengals are officially in the postseason after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs and topping the AFC North.
Cincinnati had to be near-perfect against Mahomes’ offensive juggernauts, but the Bengals found a will and way to win.
These five players had the most incredible Week 17 performances, per PFF:
Highest-graded #Bengals in Week 17 (min. 25 snaps):
— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) January 3, 2022
1️⃣ Ja’Marr Chase, WR- 91.3
2️⃣ Chidobe Awuzie, CB- 88.5
3️⃣ Jonah Williams, OT- 85.7
4️⃣ Joe Burrow, QB- 80.3
5️⃣ Mike Hilton, CB- 72.0 pic.twitter.com/6zEoktk1Q2
These are the highest graded Cincinnati Bengals players from Week 17
Obviously, Ja’Marr Chase takes first with a 91.3 PFF grade after his 266-yard three-touchdown performance.
His LSU commander-in-chief, Joe Burrow, also needs no introduction. Burrow went 30-of-39 for nearly 500 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Those two came through when the Bengals needed them most, and their jerseys should hang somewhere in Cincy for this historic Week 17 victory.
Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie also played excellent games with a combined total of 15 tackles. Against arguably the best passing offense in the league, the two corners locked down the backfield and limited Tyreek Hill to just 40 receiving yards. That’s no easy feat.
The most underappreciated man of Week 17 may be Jonah Williams, the starting left tackle who Cincy spent a first-round pick on in 2019 to have this very kind of performance.
William protected Burrow’s blind side all game, and despite the offensive line allowing four sacks, he played a huge role in giving Burrow enough time to make those deep passes to Chase and others.
Burrow recorded yet another pick-free game, and he has Williams — and the rest of his offensive line — to thank for that.
PFF’s list of the best Bengals from Week 17 doesn’t surprise us one bit. Cincinnati remains the underdogs in the postseason, but the players know their own worth.