Bengals @ Saints
Final Score: Bengals 30, Saints 26
Writer: Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL on Twitter)
With Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, and Jarvis Landry all sitting this one out due to injury, the two biggest questions coming into this game surrounding the Saints were:
- Would Alvin Kamara eat?
- How involved would Taysom Hill be?
Well, Kamara looked great but didn’t need to have a career day for the Saints to contend. New Orleans found some unlikely heroes in Rashid Shaheed and Tre’Quan Smith in the passing game, who each scored touchdowns on the day. However, it still wasn’t enough to overcome the Burrow/Chase show, which reached a crescendo in the 2nd half and led the Bengals to victory.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
Joe Burrow: 28/37, 300 Yards, 3 TD | 4 Carries, 25 Yards, TD
Joe Burrow walked into the stadium wearing Ja’Marr Chase‘s jersey from LSU’s National Championship win.
Joe Burrow showed up to today’s game against the Saints wearing Ja’Marr Chase’s jersey from LSU’s National Championship game win that was played in the Superdome 🔥🔥🔥
(🎥: @Bengals) pic.twitter.com/KTLFAvau0h
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 16, 2022
Many fantasy managers were hoping this would be a sign of things to come, and for most of the first half things looked bleak. As is tradition, Burrow was getting pressured early and often as his offensive line couldn’t keep a clean pocket for him. He was forced to scramble on a few occasions, and he missed a wide open Chase while throwing on the run. After the 1st quarter he settled down a bit, and despite almost stalling out in the red zone they were able to score on a pass to Joe Mixon.
Down 17-7 midway through the second quarter, the game was starting to get a bit out of hand for the Bengals. Burrow drove them down the field despite missing Chase again on a deep look that went right through Chase’s hands. On 3rd and 8, New Orleans blitzed and Burrow scrambled for the score to make it a three point game. This ended up being a huge play in this game as it kept the Bengals within striking distance heading into the half.
Burrow and the offense ran lots of RPO and looked good doing it. He also turned up the dial on the Burrow/Chase connection in the second half, connecting for two touchdowns, including this gorgeous throw to make it a one score game.
Joe Burrow to Chase for the score.https://t.co/3M35daLD4J
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 16, 2022
Overall, Burrow was much closer to the vintage Burrow we’ve seen in the past than the in-over-his-head Burrow we’ve seen so far this year.
Running Back
Joe Mixon: 8 Carries, 45 Yards | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 23 Yards, TD
Samaje Perine: 2 Carries, 5 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards
This was not a ground game type of day for the Bengals. Most of Mixon’s carries came out of the shotgun, and he ran the ball well despite having a few missed blocks that forced Burrow to use his legs instead. Mixon dropped a touchdown in the back of the end zone but it was a difficult catch in the back corner with a defender draped all over him. On the very next play, Mixon redeemed himself with a touchdown catch over the middle of the field. Overall, the touchdown redeemed his day for fantasy teams but otherwise, you’re likely disappointed.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Ja’Marr Chase: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 132 Yards, 2 TD
Tyler Boyd: 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 66 Yards
Tee Higgins: 10 Targets, 6 Receptions, 47 Yards
Hayden Hurst: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 21 Yards
Ja’Marr Chase started off slow in this game, like the rest of the offense, but exploded down the stretch into a monster day for the third-year receiver. There was a two-play sequence in the 1st half where Chase could have made big plays to get the offense in motion, but was unable to do so. On the first, Chase was wide open downfield but Burrow had pressure in his face and the throw went through Chase’s hands. It wasn’t a flat out drop – the throw could have been better – but Chase should have come down with it. On the very next play, Burrow threw to Chase on the run and Chase caught it on the sideline but it was ruled incomplete. To me, it looked like Chase got his feet down but there was no challenge and the Bengals chose to punt.
The offense started to click in the second half, and it unlocked beast mode Chase. He scored his first touchdown near the end of the third quarter, then near the end of the fourth he scored the go-ahead TD on a fantastic individual play.
JA'MARR CHASE. THERE HE GOES.
📺: #CINvsNO on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LIF7AUwqzz pic.twitter.com/e0NWYlOsra— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022
Tee Higgins wasn’t targeted until late in the 1st quarter, and he dropped the ball on a pretty routine crosser. He simply took his eyes off the ball and looked ahead before securing the pass. Burrow targeted him on the next play and the defender got to the ball before him and was able to break it up. It may have been a poor start to the day for Higgins, but Burrow still trusts him and kept feeding him targets anyway. He may not have stuffed the stat sheet on the day – a touchdown would have been a nice touch – but he looked healthy, and that’s important as we get to the middle of the season.
Tyler Boyd was a big beneficiary of the RPO action that Burrow was running so well, especially in the first half. He made a nice move to evade a defender after a catch and earn a nice gain, looking like the Boyd of old out there. Once the Ja’Marr Chase show began, Boyd took a back seat and was pretty much done after that.
Hayden Hurst made a nice one-handed grab in this game, but was otherwise quiet thanks to Burrow’s reliance on the WRs.
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
Andy Dalton: 17/32, 162 Yards, TD
Taysom Hill: 2/4, 16 Yards | 5 Carries, 39 Yards
Andy Dalton once again got the start with Jameis still hurt and he limited the mistakes all day, putting the Saints in a position to win. He was also pressured early and often and looked uncomfortable in the pocket, but he wasn’t afraid to throw the ball away if there was nothing there for him. He converted multiple third and long situations with blitzing defenders coming at him. He also converted a third and 15 with his legs, though it was called back due to a holding penalty.
In the second half, he checked down to Alvin Kamara early and often and found success doing that. Overall, Dalton was about what you would expect him to be, minus the turnovers. He put in a solid game that, again, was almost good enough to win if it weren’t for the star power on the other side of the field.
And then there’s Taysom Hill. This is why he’s a useless fantasy asset anywhere except bestball leagues. You can’t rely on his production on a weekly basis, and I’m willing to bet that a lot of people paid up big for him after last week’s explosion and were burned by him this week. He broke off a 31 yard gain at one point, but otherwise was bottled up and didn’t see as many snaps as he did last week. Hill is a talented player and is a playmaker, but this game further solidified that he’s unreliable on your fantasy teams.
Running Back
Alvin Kamara: 19 Carries, 99 Yards | 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 25 Yards
Mark Ingram II: 9 Carries, 46 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards
Alvin Kamara looked very good in this game. His legs looked fresh and he had that vintage Kamara burst we got so used to seeing. He dropped a screen early in the game that might have been something, and he was also held by a defender on a target in the end zone that bounced off his hand. He should have caught the ball if not for the defender grabbing his arm, and the defender wasn’t even flagged on the play.
This was the best I’ve seen Kamara look all season. He passed the eye test with flying colors, and while it wasn’t a monster game on the stat sheet, I have a feeling one is coming soon.
Mark Ingram performed as you’d expect him to – had a few nice runs, gained positive yardage almost every time, but did nothing flashy that truly stood out.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Rashid Shaheed: 1 Carry, 44 Yards, TD | 1 Target
Tre’Quan Smith: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 43 Yards, TD
Juwan Johnson: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 41 Yards
Marquez Callaway: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 36 Yards
Keith Kirkwood: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 14 Yards
Adam Trautman: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards, 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Kevin White: 1 Target
Rashid Shaheed looked like something in the two plays he was involved in. Early in the game, Shaheed beat his defender off the line and was targeted deep downfield. He turned in and was wide open, but Dalton thought he’d turn out and just flat out missed him. It likely should have been a touchdown. Later in the game, Shaheed broke an end-around on a jet motion for a touchdown on an impressive play.
Rashid Shaheed was elevated from the practice squad yesterday.
He goes 44 yards for the @Saints TD!
📺: #CINvsNO on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LIF7AUwqzz pic.twitter.com/KB0Y7bjCPQ— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022
I was surprised we didn’t see more of Shaheed after this.
Tre’Quan Smith‘s touchdown came after a fumble recovery on a botched punt. He was lucky to even have the opportunity on the play.
Adam Trautman was injured in the 2nd quarter and was in and out of the game for most of the day. Juwan Johnson was the primary receiving TE and was only getting short check-down targets.
Marquez Calloway wasn’t really involved until the end of the first half, and he likely should have had a long touchdown catch if it weren’t for a bad throw by Dalton and some contact from Apple getting in his way.
Kevin White earned a target. His future HOF career is back on. Keith Kirkwood made a fantastic catch, but unfortunately, I’m unable to find a GIF of it.