The Cincinnati Bengals Week 17 Position Grades aren’t going to be particularly hard this week. Aside from a few nuances here and there, everyone had a great game! They were going to need it considering they were up against the AFC’s current No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs. David beat Goliath this week. So, yes, we’re going to have some fun with it.
Cincinnati Bengals Week 17 Position Grades: Offense
Quarterback Grade: A+
Technically, the Bengals quarterbacks’ Week 17 position grades are influenced by two players. Personally, I thought Brandon Allen did an A+ job of kneeling and spiking once Joe Burrow left the field of play due to slight knee soreness. Beyond that, Joe Burrow was nearly perfect for the second week in a row. Had I written a Week 16 Position Grades article, I may have had to invent a grade higher than A+.
He didn’t have quite as legendary a game this week. But, he still went toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes and came away with a 76 percent completion rating for 446 yards and four touchdowns. He also was excellent at keeping the ball and running it when he needed to. I have absolutely no notes.
Running Back Grade: B
The Bengals didn’t elect to run the ball much against the Kansas City Chiefs this week. Perhaps it had something to do with the state of the Chiefs’ secondary. Regardless of the reason though, the running backs didn’t have many chances to make an impact this week. That said, Joe Mixon finished the game with 4.5 yards per touch and Samaje Perine finished with 7.0. When their numbers were called, they did their job. It wasn’t spectacular. But, it’s all you can really ask.
Wide Receiver Grade: A+
Oh my god. Ja’Marr Chase is not human. He just isn’t. He was doing that thing again where the Bengals offense needs a spark so he turns a routine reception into a field-spanning touchdown. That particular aspect looked like a young AJ Green. But, he’s so much more talented than that. He did have one weird looking drop on the day. But, you have to accept things like that happen sometimes when he turns around and drops 266 yards and three touchdowns. Seriously, what drop?
But, the Bengals have a lot of wide receivers. Just because Ja’Marr Chase had an A+ performance doesn’t mean the rest of the unit automatically gets plus marks in the Week 17 Position Grades. Don’t worry though. Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd made their presence known, too. In fact, Boyd added a fourth touchdown to the unit’s total. When this unit plays like this, nobody can stop them. There just aren’t enough defensive backs.
Tight End Grade: B
I feel like I say this every week. The Bengals’ offense does not really feature tight ends. So, it’s hard to ever give this unit a particularly high grade. But, both tight ends were useful this week. CJ Uzomah added another weapon for Joe Burrow to utilize, just to keep the defense on their toes. He finished with a modest, but still respectable four catches for 32 yards. Drew Sample continued to be absent as a pass catcher. But, he was one of the Bengals’ better pass blockers per PFF (71.2).
Offensive Line Grade: C+
Four sacks looks ugly. But, I feel it’s important to give this unit some credit in the Week 17 Position Grades. Yes, Burrow was hit 10 times on the day. But, that’s largely because Kansas City thought it was a good idea to blitz Joe Burrow all day. If you’re an NFL defensive coordinator reading this article, for some reason, don’t do that. It doesn’t work.
Jackson Carman, Isaiah Prince, and Trey Hopkins were all credited with quite a few of those hurries and pressures. But, Jonah Williams had an A+ day as a blocker, particularly in the running game. Same goes for Jackson Carman and Fred Johnson, in all of the five snaps he played.
At the end of the day, this unit is playing pretty average football. Some guys are trending generally above average, some are trending generally below average. But, none of them are awful. That seems to be enough for the Bengals to find ways to win, and that’s what matters.
Cincinnati Bengals Week 17 Position Grades: Defense
Defensive Line Grade: B+
When you have the ability to create pressure with four rushers, you have a massive advantage going into each game. The Bengals have that advantage with guys like Sam Hubbard, Trey Hendrickson, Larry Ogunjobi, BJ Hill, and DJ Reader all pushing the unit to perform at a high level every single week.
The defensive line was unable to actually bring Patrick Mahomes down for a sack this week.
Linebacker Grade: C+
Considering the circumstances, I feel like the linebacker unit deserves a lot of commendation in the Week 17 Position Grades. They had to overcome the loss of Germaine Pratt to COVID this week. Logan Wilson did return to the field for the first time in four weeks after his shoulder injury. But, he looked limited by that injury at times on the field. He did a pretty good job in pass coverage and run defense. But, his tackling left a lot to be desired. He completely whiffed on two of his eight tackling attempts and, at one point, looked like he just froze in the middle of a play while Patrick Mahomes got free.
Markus Bailey made up for Wilson’s tackling issues, though. He also played well in pass coverage. In fact, the two linebackers combined to hold Travis Kelce to only five catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t perfect, but the linebackers overcame a lot of tough circumstances.
Cornerback Grade: B-
If it wasn’t for how dominant the Bengals’ defensive line has looked this year, I’d say the cornerback room has been the most improved unit on the defense this year. The addition of Chidobe Awuzie has been an absolute godsend for the Bengals. He allowed a passer rating of only 82.8 this week, recorded four stops. Mike Hilton and Eli Apple both let a couple of plays go on their end. But, on the whole, the unit played well this week when it really mattered.
Safety Grade: C
Jessie Bates was rough in coverage this week. In particular, when he had to cover Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardiman. But, when he did get to his man, he was damn near perfect tackling. Vonn Bell got picked on a bit in coverage too. But, like the linebackers, they held Travis Kelce down to a relatively harmless day. This game despite the entire city of Cincinnati being terrified of what the former UC Bearcat would do to this defense that tends to struggle against tight ends.
Special Teams Grades: B-
Had Kansas City’s kickoff return for a touchdown not been nullified by penalty, I would have had a lot more to say about this unit in the Week 17 Position Grades. But, all things considered, it was a pretty decent day for Darrin Simmons’ unit. There was virtually no excitement on punt and kick returns for Trent Taylor. But, after that debacle against the 49ers a few weeks ago, you have to take that.
Kevin Huber had an ok day punting. Although, he did kind of botch the opportunity to pin the Chiefs deep in their own territory when punting from the Chiefs’ 45. Evan McPherson wasn’t tested much as a field goal kicker, although he did convert the walk-off field goal. It was from 20 yards, but still. The one issue I have, though, is he had some really odd looking issues on kickoffs early in the game. Nothing to get up in arms about, but maybe worth keeping an eye on.
Coaching grade: B+
My god. The absolute balls on Zac Taylor and Lou Anarumo to call the game the way they did. First of all, Anarumo’s decision to zero blitz Patrick Mahomes in the red zone worked. But, I’ll be damned if it wasn’t a hell of a risk. Then, Zac Taylor’s decision to KEEP GOING FOR THE TOUCHDOWN ON FOURTH DOWN IN A TIE GAME ON THE BENGALS’ LAST POSSESSION WITH ONLY ONE TIMEOUT AND PATRICK MAHOMES ON THE OTHER SIDE DAMN NEAR GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK.
But, I also have to give credit where credit is due. The Chiefs kept making little mistakes that kept giving the Bengals more opportunities to attempt to move the ball ONE YARD. He got lucky in that the Chiefs ended up draining all their timeouts and the Bengals were able to run the clock out and walk off with a field goal. But, if either of those penalties not been called the Chiefs would have gotten the ball with 50-58 seconds left and only needing to get in field goal range.
Luckily, that didn’t happen, so I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt in the Week 17 Position Grades. If the Bengals lost because he decided not to just take the damn points after getting stuffed FIVE TIMES IN A ROW, all hell would have broken loose. But, to be fair, the Bengals said they wanted to be an aggressive team. They’re proving that’s who they are, and it worked. Thank god.