The Cincinnati Bengals took down the New Orleans Saints in their Week 11 matchup Sunday, 27-10. Quarterback Andy Dalton threw three touchdowns with no interceptions and backup running back Jeremy Hill, filling in for Giovani Bernard, put up over 100 rushing yards to lift Cincinnati to what looked like a relatively easy victory.
Bengals vs. Saints 2014 final score: 3 things we learned from Cincinnati’s 27-10 win
The Cincinnati Bengals took a decisive victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, winning 27-10.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Cincinnati made fewer mistakes and simply played fundamental football. On defense, the Bengals made some key stops in the red zone and on offense, they didn’t try anything overly fancy. They outgained the Saints on the offensive side of the ball and were in control after scoring a touchdown in the opening frame.
It was a relatively clean first quarter, with both teams marching to the red zone with long, sustained drives. It got a little ugly for the Bengals late in the quarter, when tight end Jermaine Gresham caught a pass near the 5-yard line and extended the ball to try and turn it into a touchdown. Gresham fumbled well before the end zone, but it was eventually recovered by ... Gresham, for a touchdown, putting the Bengals up, 7-3.
The second quarter was absent any controversial or even big plays, for the most part. The Saints had a long, long drive stall when Mark Ingram was stopped for no gain on a third-and-1 at the Cincinnati 1-yard line, and then went for it on fourth down. They were unsuccessful, and the Bengals put together a 15-play, 94-yard drive that ended in a field goal to increase their lead on the next series.
After another failed Saints drive, running back Jeremy Hill managed a 62-yard run near the end of the half, setting the Bengals up in field goal range with just one second on the clock. They kicked another field goal to go up 13-3 heading into the second half.
There were more fireworks in the second half, but the Bengals were never in danger of losing their lead to the Saints. Gresham caught what is technically his second touchdown pass of the game to give the Bengals a 20-3 lead, and the Saints finally responded when Drew Brees hit Kenny Stills for a 9-yard touchdown in the fourth. Cincinnati would go on to respond with a 24-yard touchdown to A.J. Green on the next possession to widen the lead, however.
They didn’t give up said lead, taking another extended drive deep into the fourth quarter to kill plenty of clock, sealing the victory.
Three things we learned:
1) The Saints are very good at spreading the ball around
Neither Jimmy Graham nor Marques Colston had big games on Sunday, but Brees still had a respectable day throwing the football. Brees has always been known as a guy who makes it work regardless of his offensive personnel, which is why it's not surprising in the least that 10 players were targeted on offense on Sunday. Four running backs were targeted in the passing game, including fullback Erik Lorig, who caught four passes on the day. New Orleans didn't find the success it was looking for on offense, but the variety is still impressive.
2) Jeremy Hill has earned playing time
Giovani Bernard missed this game with a hip injury he sustained in Week 8. Bernard was running well before his injury, with 109 carries for 446 yards and five touchdowns on the season. But Hill has been filling in well over the past couple games, putting up 154 yards against the Jaguars and 55 yards against the Browns over the past two weeks.
Hill was once again effective on Sunday, putting up 152 yards on 27 carries, good for a per-carry average of 5.6 yards. He also had a 62-yard run at the end of the first half that set the Bengals up in field goal range with one second on the clock. Maybe he caught the Saints off guard, but he got the yardage either way. Bernard will likely be back for Cincinnati’s next game, but Hill has earned himself a good bit of playing time regardless. Maybe not a 50/50 split, but Hill should be getting 10-plus touches per game going forward.
3) Nobody really knows what a touchdown is
As described above, Gresham caught a pass, tried to extend for the touchdown, came up woefully short and fumbled the ball. He definitely didn’t score prior to fumbling the ball, but after a scramble, he managed to dive onto the ball in the end zone, resulting in a touchdown and a Bengals lead. That much is clear -- it’s a touchdown. And here it is below:
What’s unclear is why the scorekeepers changed it from a fumble recovery touchdown to a touchdown reception. For some reason, Gresham is getting credited for a 12-yard touchdown reception, and Dalton is obviously credited with a 12-yard touchdown pass. That sure is going to make some fantasy owners angry.
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