Matt’s Take: Ugly wins are still wins, Who Dey!

By Matthew McAdow
HCP columnist

In the National Football League, a win is a win, despite how a team managed to pull out a victory. On Sunday night, Cincinnati found a way to squeeze out an ugly victory over the Giants, and I’ll take an ugly offensive victory over a toss-up shootout every single week.  

While I will certainly write about the poor offensive performance, we first have to give credit where it is due-to the defense.  

BJ Hill had the best game of his career that I can recall, Lou Anarumo had a perfect defensive scheme to limit deep yardage, and the entire defensive line finally looked healthy and cohesive.  

With the Browns, Eagles, and Raiders approaching on the schedule, now is the time for Cincinnati to string together 3 more wins and to get right back in the race.  

First, it’ll take beating Cleveland at the Dog Pound, which hasn’t happened for Cincinnati since 2017. One game at a time, Cincinnati can get right back in this race. 

Positives

• Cincinnati won the game.  It doesn’t matter how, they won the game; 2-4 with a good opportunity to win again this week against Cleveland.  

• I forgot that Joe Burrow had some wheels on him. He reached 19.86 mph on his 47-yard touchdown run on a 3rd and 18 play. “I’ll do it myself” mentality from number 9 is what truly got points on the scoreboard throughout the night for Cincinnati. His scrambling, running, and avoiding sacks led to big enough plays to win this game. 

• BJ Hill, stand up! What a game from the ex-Giant. The 29-year-old had a true revenge game and he showed why he is a captain on this team. 7 tackles, two major deflections, and a few hits on Daniel Jones for Hill.  

• DJ Turner had a season saving play on fourth down. What could’ve turned into a disaster, turned into a great moment for Turner and a shut-down to the momentum that the Giants were gaining.  
    
• Chase Brown, just by the eye-test, is by far our best back. He has explosiveness that Moss simply doesn’t have, while Moss has blocking capabilities in pass protection that Brown lacks. 5.3 yards per carry for Brown is a nice sight and I’m glad I am not typing about the near-fumble right now. 
    
• Pittsburgh still has games remaining against Commanders, Ravens, Bengals, Chiefs, Eagles, and more. That offense, to me, isn’t good enough to win the AFC North. Cincinnati really needs Baltimore to lose some games they aren’t supposed to.  

Negatives

• The offensive line gave up many pressures, resulting in Burrow taking some brutal hits on the field and making a trip to the tent.  
    
• Cam Taylor-Britt covers the long-ball well, but is still struggling on the quick turnaround from receivers. I am glad that Nabers wasn’t present for this game. 

• Cincinnati had 5 straight punts after the opening drive. Zac Taylor’s play calling was in shambles all night with zero rhythm. He has to find a way to open up his playbook for this team to be successful.  

• Jermaine Burton was healthy, yet inactive for this game. There has to be more to the story, as he should be on the field simply because his vertical abilities. You’re telling me he isn’t better at returning kicks than Charlie Jones either? What’s going on here?
    
• The biggest negative is that Cincinnati didn’t squeeze out victories against Washington, Baltimore, New England, or Kansas City. All of these could have been wins and while I hate to live in the past, these losses will haunt us for the entire season. 

Prediction

With 6 games already in the books and Cincinnati currently sitting at 2-4, what is your final record prediction for the Bengals? Here is my overly optimistic prediction for the rest of the season:

10/20 vs Browns – Bengals win 
10/27 vs Eagles – Bengals win
11/3 vs Raiders – Bengals win
11/7 vs Ravens – Bengals lose
11/17 vs Chargers – Bengals win
12/1 vs Steelers – Bengals lose
12/9 vs Cowboys – Bengals lose
12/15 vs Titans – Bengals win
12/19 vs Browns – Bengals win
12/29 vs Broncos – Bengals win
1/5 vs Steelers – Bengals win

This would bring the Bengals record to 10-7 and it is honestly a “best-case scenario.”  This would require health to be on Cincinnati’s side and some 1-score games to finally fall in the Queen City’s favor. What does your prediction look like? Email me at matthew.mcadow@yahoo.com or follow me on Twitter (X) to discuss. Who Dey!

Below is Bengals QB Joe Burrow.