Winners and Losers From the Bengals' 31-20 Win Over the Titans
CINCINNATI — The Bengals got their second win of the season on Sunday with a 31-20 win over the Titans. Here are four winners and two losers from the game.
Winners
Offensive Line
With four starting offensive lineman out, the Bengals had a pretty inexperienced lineup against the Titans.
Quinton Spain, who signed with the Bengals on Friday, came in at left guard on the second drive of the game and played the rest of the way. Another notable start was rookie Hakeem Adeniji at left tackle.
The Bengals didn't allow a sack for the first time this season. They only gave up two quarterback hits, which was a refreshing surprise for rookie quarterback Joe Burrow. The performance from the line is a big reason why Cincinnati was able to upset Tennessee.
Auden Tate
With Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins having great seasons and A.J. Green picking up his play as of late, Auden Tate has been a somewhat forgotten receiver for the Bengals. Tate had his best game of the season against the Titans, finishing with seven receptions for 65 yards. He had a couple of amazing catches, including one late in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Bengals.
With John Ross requesting a trade, it looks like Tate is clearly the fourth wide receiver on the depth chart. He appears to have stepped ahead of Mike Thomas and could see his snaps increase moving forward.
Joe Burrow
The rookie quarterback showed out again Sunday, leading the Bengals to a 31-20 victory. Burrow finished the game with 249 yards and two touchdowns.
More importantly, the young quarterback didn't make many mistakes. Aside from a couple tipped passes, there weren't many high risk passes. The former first overall pick proved once again he’s the future for this franchise.
Carl Lawson
The Bengals defensive end only had two tackles, but he did a great job getting into the backfield on multiple occasions. Lawson had some big pressures for Cincinnati that helped speed up Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Lawson continues to be the Bengals' best pass rusher. They're banking on him to continue his run of good play on the edge.
Losers
LeShaun Sims
Cornerback Leshaun Sims had another rough game this week, giving up a score and struggling in coverage multiple times throughout the game.
Sims will need to step up and improve in the coming weeks with Darius Phillips potentially missing time with a groin injury.
Run Defense
They got the win, but the Bengals' run defense struggled against Derrick Henry and the Titans. Henry finished with 112 yards and a touchdown, with the Titans totaling 218 rushing yards and 7.5 yards per rush.
The Bengals will need to make adjustments in their rushing defense in the coming weeks, but they overcame the issue on Sunday.
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