The Bengals finished with 405 yards but it was their 3rd down conversions that hurt the most (9 for 13). No distance feels safe on 3rd down for this unit right now, as evidenced by the Bengals being able to pick up a 1st on a 3rd and 8 run, or a 3rd and 18 single coverage pass down the sideline man to man between A. J. Green and Brian Dixon. You figure that one out. Perhaps most condemning was a 62 yard Jeremy Hill run as the Bengals were merely trying to run out the clock deep in their own territory on 2nd and 12. Instead, they got a field goal thanks to that play. The Bengals ran for 186 yards at 5.2 per carry and gashed the Saints passing to Green whenever necessary. The Saints tried Corey White, Keenan Lewis and Dixon on Green – none of which worked. And of course the Bengals played everyone’s favorite game of “find Corey White on the field” when passing. A deplorable defensive performance as the grades below suggest.
Cam Jordan: C (2.43) He finished with 4 tackles and played average. His pass rushing would disrupt Andy Dalton on occasion but Dalton was able to escape and outrun the pass rush way too often. Jordan was better playing the run than most.
Junior Galette: C (2.30) He had 2 tackles but I actually thought he played the run ok. He was blatantly held on a number of rushes and no flags ever seemed to come. Like Jordan he gave Dalton pressure but was never able to make a play.
Brodrick Bunkley: B (2.23) I actually thought he played the run well, especially early. One of the very few on defense that decided to show up. He had 3 tackles.
Akiem Hicks: C (2.40) He was wearing a massive brace on his arm with what looked like heavy bandage underneath. He seems clearly injured and it’s probably hurting his strength in the trenches. He did have 5 tackles but they were always in pursuit and never around the line of scrimmage.
Tyrunn Walker: C- (2.30) He helped hit Hill for a 2 yard loss on the play right before he ripped a 62 yarder. That was his lone tackle and he had no impact.
Kasim Edebali: C- (2.00) He had 3 tackles, though one was on kickoff coverage. He continues to give the Saints very little in the form of a pass rush and run defense is clearly not his strength.
John Jenkins: B- (2.29) Finished with 3 tackles and was active in the middle.
Curtis Lofton: C+ (2.77) He missed some tackles and took a couple bad angles but he led the team with 11 tackles and had a knockdown on a blitz. He’s not to blame for this debacle.
David Hawthorne: D (2.67) He had 7 tackles and made one nice goal line tackle in the backfield. Otherwise, he was clearly rusty and looked slow. On a number of the big runs he was blocked out of the play and the runner hit the gap he left open. He was slow going sideline to sideline running with backs in the flat.
Parys Haralson: B- (2.53) Like Hawthorne he struggled in coverage and wasn’t his normal self in run support. He did get a clean up sack on a blitz, though, and that was sadly pretty much the play of the game for this defense. He had 4 tackles.
Keenan Lewis: C- (2.67) Played only in obvious passing situations. He’s clearly hampered and didn’t move that well. He was beaten pretty clearly on a deep touchdown pass to A. J. Green and probably should have been held out. He finished with 1 tackle. Given him credit for being tough, though, no doubt there.
Corey White: D- (1.97) He gave the Bengals a 1st down on a clear pass interference call on a 3rd and 5. He was also interfered with once which set up the 3rd and 18 coversion. He finished with 3 tackles and was targeted almost every time Dalton dropped back to pass. His attempts at staying with Green were comical. He’s just not fit to be a starter.
Patrick Robinson: B- (2.38) His coverage was actually very good generally. Always near the ball and disruptive when the ball came near him. At this point I think the Saints need to consider putting him back ahead of White as a starter (assuming Lewis is healthy enough to play again at some point). He’s been pretty steady for a while now. I feel like it’s only a matter of time until it all blows up in his face again, but hopefully not.
Marcus Ball: D (1.60) He had 1 tackle. He tried to blitz on one play and had a horrific offsides penalty that turned a 3rd and 6 into a 3rd and 1 that, naturally, the Bengals would convert. Ball continues to not cut it and I’m still waiting on him to make a play of any kind. Unfortunately he’s likely now the starter at free safety.
Brian Dixon: D+ (1.76) He forced a fumble near the goal line (not sure why that was attributed to White, I disagree with it) and had a clear chance and recovering the ball and running with it. He whiffed, and instead it resulted in a Bengals touchdown. That play hurts as much as any I can remember from this game. Oh, except for maybe the time he got roasted down the sideline by Green on 3rd and 18 for a first down. He had 1 tackle. Those two plays alone deserve an F, but forcing a fumble is more than anyone else on this defense contributed. He also downed a punt inside the 5.
Rafael Bush: C (2.47) He finished with 5 tackles and was generally steady but took a couple of bad angles and I thought his coverage over the top was way too safe. He should have shaded over to Green a lot more to help. Unfortunately now he has a broken leg and we probably won’t see him again this year. As if this secondary could afford to get any worse.
Kenny Vaccaro: C- (1.90) No egregious missed tackles in this one but he did have completely unnecessary roughing the passer penalty. Otherwise he had just 3 tackles. Too bad he couldn’t produce more in run support. More of the same in what has been just a miserable season for the once promising safety. His coverage was fine.
Shayne Graham: B (2.90) He made his lone attempt from 31 and his lone extra point. Continues to have a reliable campaign and I’m closer to the idea of being sold on him as the 2015 kicker if he doesn’t cost much.
Thomas Morstead: C- (2.87) He was only 1 for 3 on touchbacks with the kickoffs and unfortunately Adam Jones was able to get a big return on one. He also shanked a punt that went 25 yards before going out of bounds. He did still pin two punts inside the 20 and his average of 44 (41 net) was still good especially considering the shank. Unfortunately the poor punt set up the Bengals with a very short field and they would use that to take a 20-3 lead.
Justin Drescher: B+ (3.33) I’m giving the long snapper some love. It’s not easy to always snap the ball perfectly and then run down the field and make a tackle on Adam Jones in coverage inside the 20. That alone deserves special teams player of the game.
My Defensive Player of the Game: Brodrick Bunkley
My Special Teams Player of the Game: Justin Drescher
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
