The Cincinnati Bengals Week 12 win over the Tennessee Titans was a huge AFC win for Joe Burrow and company. Playing without Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Mixon, the offense manufactured yards and points, and the defense kept Derrick Henry mostly under wraps. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but the Bengals-Titans tilt was about as good as fans could have hoped without two of the team’s biggest stars in the lineup. Here are the Bengals grades for Week 12.
Passing Offense
Joe Burrow did a great job spreading the ball around without his best deep threat in Ja’Marr Chase, and his outlet, Joe Mixon. Tee Higgins’ seven catches for 114 yards led the team, and tight end Hayden Hurt had six crucial catches for 57 yards to keep the chains moving.
The offensive line — a group that’s struggled at times this season — kept Burrow mostly upright. The Titans only sacked the Bengals QB one time, although they did hit him too often for the Bengals liking.
Overall, the Bengals grades for the passing game are high, and with Chase hopefully coming back after this Week 12 Bengals-Titans game, the marks should get even higher next week.
Grade: A
Rushing Offense
No Joe Mixon? No problem for the Bengals' Week 12 rushing numbers. Backup Samaje Perine didn’t have eye-popping numbers. He finished with 58 yards on 17 carries (3.41 yards per attempt), and Trayveon Williams had just 18 yards on two carries, with a huge 16-yard run late in the game.
The big rushing winner for the Bengals was Joe Burrow, who racked up an uncharacteristic 32 yards on nine carries, running for first downs in big spots. Just like the passing game, it wasn’t always pretty, but the team ran when they needed to and complied first downs in key spots.
The final tally was 108 yards on the ground and one touchdown against a stout Titans rushing defense, and that gets an A grade.
Grade: A
Passing Defense
The Titans' passing attack isn’t exactly the “Greatest Show on Turf,” but it looked like it at times against the Bengals defense. Ryan Tannehill was 22-of-34 for 291 yards with no interceptions, but the D also kept him from throwing a touchdown pass.
Several long passes victimized Cincinnati. Derrick Henry had a 69-yard screen pass for an (eventual) touchdown, and rookie Treylon Burks had a 51-yard catch. However, the passing D bowed up in the red zone, and that gets decent Bengals grades for the unit.
Grade: B
Rushing Defense
Whenever a defense plays superstar Derrick Henry, they are in for a long day. In the Bengals-Titans game, the defense held tough, though, limiting Henry to just 38 yards in 17 carries (2.24 yards per attempt), and that was ultimately the difference in the game.
Six Titans defenders had five tackles or more, and they never let Henry get going. Tannehill didn’t have a big effect on the game either with his feet, rushing for just nine yards on two carries. Overall, the rushing defense was the reason the Titans won the game, and they should get a lot of props for that.
Grade: A
Special Teams
Another major difference in this game was on special teams. Evan McPherson was perfect on extra points and field goals, as his reputation as a big-game kicker continues to grow. On the other side, Caleb Shudak missed a field goal attempt, which wouldn’t have won the game, but would have changed the tenor.
The game-clinching play was a massive mistake by the Titans special teams unit, as they ran over the long snapper and drew a penalty to clinch the Bengals' Week 12 win. Oftentimes, all a team wants is for their special teams unit not to make a big mistake, and that’s what the Bengals got, and the Titans didn’t, which is why this Bengals grade is so high.
Grade: A
Coaching
Anytime a club is missing two of its biggest stars, the game plans matter in a big way. Zac Taylor and his crew had a good offensive balance, with 28 runs and 37 passes to keep the Titans off guard.
On defense, the unit sold out to stop Henry, and they did just that, limiting him to his worst output since Week 2 vs. the Buffalo Bills. For those reasons, the Bengals’ coaching staff gets high marks for picking up the win.
Grade: A
Overall Bengals Grade: A
As the 2022 NFL season goes into the home stretch, there are no style points, just marks for wins and losses. While there were some highlight plays from Samaje Perine and Tee Higgins, the Bengals-Titans game featured a workman-like performance from the visitors.
The W keeps the Bengals in the playoffs and puts them in a virtual tie with the Baltimore Ravens for the division. You can’t complain about any of that, which is why this Bengals grade is a solid A.
Follow Us
Subscribe