3 big winners from Bengals critical Week 9 win over Raiders

This was an important one. If the Cincinnati Bengals wanted to keep their playoff hopes alive, they needed a win in Week 9 over the Las Vegas Raiders. A loss would have all but ended any lingering postseason aspirations. Luckily, they were indeed able to overcome the Raiders and secure a victory.

Thanks to a dominant performance from the offense, the Bengals got their first home win of the season, 41-24, to move to 4-5 on the season and keep those hopes alive for another week, at least. Cincinnati benefitted from a plethora of positive performances against Las Vegas, and they wouldn't have won the game without them. Here's a look at three big winners from the contest.

Joe Burrow, Quarterback

How good is this guy? Burrow spent Sunday afternoon picking apart Las Vegas' defense to the tune of 251 yards and five touchdowns. It was his second five-touchdown performance of the current campaign, and after the game he wasn't even satisfied.

"How this season has gone, knowing what's ahead of us, knowing what we're going to have to do to get back into this, one win isn't going to make or break our season," Burrow said. "I'm going to strive for perfection every day and every game. ... So, until that happens, what's there to be happy about?"

Bengals fans have to love that attitude. Burrow has been absolutely locked in all season, and he's setting the tone for the rest of the team in the process. He's not satisfied, and no one else should be. The Bengals will need Burrow to continue playing at the MVP-level that he has been all season if they're going to continue to climb out of the early hole that they dug for themselves.

Chase Brown, Running back

Chase Brown turned in the most productive performance of his career against the Raiders with 120 yards and 27 carries. He also caught five passes for 37 yards and a touchdown. It was a dynamic performance out of the backfield from Brown, and it was nice to see the Bengals make it a priority to get him ample touches.

Brown's monster performance came at a great time, as fellow back Zack Moss was sidelined for the game with a neck injury. Brown carried the entire workload for the backfield in Moss' absence, as he was the only running back to receiver a carry all game.

The Bengals should contunie to heavily feature Brown moving forward, as he's an extremely talented back. Plus, doing so will hope to expand the offense and make it less predictable and one-dimensional.

Mike Gesicki, Tight end

Mike Gesicki had his best game in a Bengals uniform against Las Vegas. The sure-handed tight end caught five passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns, including this 47-yard beauty:

The Bengals needed someone (not named Ja'Marr Chase) to step up in the absence of Tee Higgins, and Gesicki was ready and willing. He now has 173 receiving yards over the past two weeks, as he's become an increasingly integral part of the offense. Look for that trend to continue.