By Jay Bhati ’20, Contributor

As a die hard bengals fan, I came into this season expecting the bengals to start 3-0 not 0-3. People think the Bengals are terrible because of their performance in the first 3 games. Let’s actually look at how the Bengals played in those games. Game 1 against the Ravens. Now I’m going to put this game on the Bengals offense. They were horrible to a point. Out of the four interceptions Dalton threw, only one was actually his fault. The other three revolved around receiver’s not catching balls and finally the last one was right before the half ended. Only one of the interceptions he threw was actually his fault because of a misread. Week one the offense was horrendous. There were signs of life with the three-headed monster in the back field. And AJ green is always amazing, but with such a terrible offensive line, the offense struggled against a subpar Ravens defense. The defense however actually played quite well, disregarding the score. The offense did turn the ball over four times putting the defense in very tight spots. So with week one over, the Bengals were labeled terrible, time to think about week 2.

Week 2. It was Thursday Night Football and the defense showed up. There were more 3rd and shorts than I can count, and the defense stopped the Texans every time. The only slip up was a 50-yard scramble by Deshawn Watson before the half. Besides that single blunder, the defense shut down the Texans offense. The Bengals offense, however, was horrible. But the players weren’t the problems. When given the chance, Dalton connected with Green and the other receivers for multiple plays. The play call was conservative and that ended up killing the offense in the end. After going 0-2 and not being able to score a single touchdown the Bengals fired their offensive coordinator. After the Thursday night loss, the Bengals went to Lambea, home of the Packers. Great.  

Week 3, the final loss. At this point the organization has fired Kevin Zampese and hopefully the results will come out differently than before. They did. The Bengals produces a monstrous half, getting up on the Packers 21-7. Carl Lawson was living In the Green Bay back field sacking Rodgers 3 times. Along with the constant pressure, the defense also produced a pick six which was very unlike Rodgers to throw. The offense also got a hot start, scoring on the first drive with both Dalton and the running game powering on all cylinders.  Although the first half and second half are two completely different stories, as the Packers made adjustments and ended up winning a game, this was a very successful game by the Bengals, as it showed the potential of the offense and defense, which should make teams like the Cleveland Browns scared for their dignity.

Week 4, the first win. Cincinnati fans probably came up with an ultimatum this week stating that if the Bengals lose, we lose our team pride for them. Thankfully the Bengals did not lose; they dominated the Browns. Like the first half of the Packers game, the offense came out red hot, however they did make some key mistakes in their own territory. Whenever there was a costly mistake committed by the offense, the defense was there to bail them out. The defense kept Cleveland scoreless for 3 quarters. The only touchdown came near the final two minutes of the second half when all the secondary players were in. Overall this showed how dominant the Bengals can be and winning this game keeps their playoff aspirations alive. The Bengals have potential and it showed with the win over the Browns. The defense was very hard hitting as they now have Vontaze Burfict back. The offense marched up and down the field throughout the game with all three running backs contributing immensely. There was no aspect of the Bengals that wasn’t near perfect against the Browns.