The Cincinnati Bengals got off to a strong start to their season with a 34-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts. A.J. Green and Joe Mixon were both instrumental in the win as they scored two of the team’s three touchdowns. Mixon also had 149 total yards in what was an impressive performance overall.
After the game, Green heaped praise on the second-year back, saying he belongs in the conversation with Le’Veon Bell and Todd Gurley in terms of the best dual-threat running backs.
“You mention him with Le’Veon or (Todd) Gurley,” Green said per the team's official website. “He’s there with those guys.”
While Mixon’s numbers against the Colts was certainly Bell-esque, Green is jumping the gun much too quickly by declaring that his teammate needs to be mentioned with the likes of Bell and Gurley.
Those two have already built up a track record of coming up with those sorts of excellent performances on a consistent basis over multiple years. Meanwhile, Mixon, whose dual-threat ability was hyped up when he came into the league, has yet to even put together back-to-back games with that sort of output.
Luckily, Mixon will have the opportunity to do just that this season as the Bengals’ undisputed lead back. And as he showed against the Colts as well as in spurts during his rookie season, he’s got the talent to produce.
But until he delivers on that promise, Green and others may just want to hold off on mentioning Mixon among the very best running backs in the league for a while longer.
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