The Cincinnati Bengals look to be in quite the groove after their win against the Seattle Seahawks, as they managed to run the football well against them; which isn’t the easiest thing to do against Seattle, especially without Cedric Benson. Superb play from their defensive line combined with a little help from their back end helped carry them throughout this one. As things heat-up in the AFC North, the Bengals are riding a four game winning streak that could help them make a serious push for a playoff spot down the road.
Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks put up a lot of yards in the passing game, but it sure seemed as if it was a lot of the same as the week before. Over their past two games they have scored a combined 15 points and have showed no signs of life when it comes to running the football. Things don’t get any easier for the Seahawks this week as they take on a reeling Dallas Cowboys team that got punched in the mouth by the Philadelphia Eagles on national television.
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Cincinnati Bengals – Three Performances of Note
A Personal Best
Carlos Dunlap is at again, posting his eighth straight game with a positive PFF grade. Over that eight game span, his overall rating is +31.1. Seattle is not usually the most friendly place to visit for opposing players, but Dunlap made it feel like home by having the best game of his career on Sunday. He registered an outstanding seven-quarterback pressures, three quarterback hits and one sack. Out of the Bengals 77 defensive snaps, he was in on 58 of them. Right tackle James Carpenter took the brunt of Dunlap’s beating (-3.5) as he gave up all five of his pressures and lone sack to Dunlap. Dunlap now leads the NFL with nine quarterback hits and is in the top five in pressures.
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The Odd Man out
Seattle’s defensive line has proven to be quite the handful for opposing offensive lineman, and this game was no different than any other. That is except for Bengals offensive lineman Kyle Cook. Cook turned in his best-run blocking performance of the season against the league’s best run defense. Twice, Cook displayed the ability to get off the ball quickly and get to second level blocks. Both of his second level blocks came against the Seahawks’ middle linebacker David Hawthorne. The most impressive being in the fourth quarter with 8:40 left to play. When Cook engaged with Hawthorne, he completely sealed him off, washing him out of the play allowing Bernard Scott to run for a gain of 12 yards.
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Attention Please
With the good always comes the bad. Just ask Andre Smith. Smith has been putting his best foot forward in 2011 to try and turn around a disappointing and injury filled career. Smith’s play up until this game had looked like a massive improvement over 2010, where he was down right atrocious. Coming into Sunday’s game, he had a positive PFF grade (+1.1), but that all changed very quickly when he met the solid rotation of Raheem Brock, Chris Clemons and Red Bryant. Two particular things killed Smith, run blocking and penalties, as he was flagged three times; twice for false starts and one more time for a hold on Brock. It’s his sixth penalty in seven games; either the 12thman really influenced the penalties or it is a simple as a lack of focus.
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Seattle Seahawks – Three Performances of Note
Things can’t get much worse
Surely a shoe in for the “All Had a Bad Day Team” with a pass block grade of -6.9 and a run block grade of -3.7, John Moffitt can only hope to never play that poorly again. If one were to only look at the stat line, Moffitt gave up a sack, three quarterback hits and six pressures. The best way to describe his play would be to compare it to a leaky faucet that wouldn’t stop leaking even if the water was shut off. Whether it was a defensive end or a defensive tackle, every Bengals defensive lineman took a turn at eating him up with ease. By far the worst play was in the first quarter with 5:46 remaining; Geno Atkins flew off the ball and practically bull rushed Moffitt into Charlie Whitehurst.
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Headed in the Right Direction
As of late, the injury bug has bitten the Seahawks’ secondary. While injuries are always a negative, one the plus side is that it allows for an audition at the left cornerback position. Richard Sherman is hoping to solidify that position and if things continue to go as well as they have there won’t be much of a debate as who deserves to start. Sherman made the first start of his career on Sunday and it yielded better results than most expected. Sure, he did give up a touchdown and he had a couple of penalties, but outside one play his play was stellar. Sherman only allowed three receptions on ten targets and turned in a nice second half performance that included an interception and a pass defended. His coverage grade for the game was a team high +3.1.
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Consistency is Key
Let’s keep things on the defensive side of the ball, as there is not a whole lot to talk about outside of Tarvaris Jackson on the offense. Alan Branch has to easily be Seattle’s most underrated free agent pickup of the offseason. He is someone who brings it week in and week out in every facet of the game. At times before he has flashed with great games, but consistency has been the key for Branch this year and this game was no different. He was his usual self against the run (+1.6), but Branch turned in his best pass rushing performance (+2.3) of the season, while also drawing two holding calls against Bobbie Williams. There wasn’t one Bengal in particular that he picked on, he just worked his way up and down the line beating up on whoever was in front of him.
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Game Notes
– Leon Hall was thrown at ten times, allowing six catches for 123 yards.
– After another drop on his only target, Anthony McCoy’s grade on the season drops to a woeful –11.9
– A.J. Green saw a team high 10 targets.
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PFF Game Ball
Carlos Dunlap, DE, Cincinnati Bengals
He was virtually unblock able and there have been very few who have graded out as high as he did.
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