elaine95 le Mer Aoû 14, 2019 2:44
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CINCINNATI (AP) — Sitting in the end zone after his game-turning catch Womens Tyler Kroft Jersey , A.J. Green raised the ball in celebration as Bengals teammates streamed toward him. They haven’t had many moments like this one — not in recent years, not in their 51-year history.The moment captured the difference between this Bengals team and the past few: It’s developed a knack for the big play in the final minutes.Green’s diving 13-yard touchdown catch with 7 seconds left gave Cincinnati a 37-36 victory Sunday in Atlanta and left the Bengals (3-1) tied with Baltimore atop the AFC North after a challenging opening month.They played three of their first four on the road, and won two of them with a last-minute play. A fumble return for a touchdown got them a 34-23 win in Indianapolis , the type of play they’ve lacked the past two seasons as they missed out on the playoffs.On Sunday in Atlanta, they had plenty of big plays under the most intense pressure.Andy Dalton converted a third down and a pair of fourth-down plays during the winning drive, then finished it off with a perfect throw to a sliding Green in the corner of the end zone. It was only the second time in franchise history that Cincinnati got a winning touchdown pass with less than 10 seconds left.“I think in the NFL, your great players have got to play great, and right now we’re getting that,” coach Marvin Lewis said Monday.“Our other guys are growing up around them because they want to be ‘look at me, too.’ So I think we’re gaining some of that.”Dalton and Green are reviving an offense that finished last in the league last season and was overhauled by coordinator Bill Lazor, putting more of an emphasis on throwing the ball downfield. Green had a career-high three touchdown catches during a 34-23 win over the Ravens in Cincinnati’s only home game.Dalton was nearly perfect in the first half against the Falcons, going 14 of 16 for 211 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 158.3 — the best possible. He finished 29 of 41 for 337 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.On the last 12 plays of the winning drive, Dalton either scrambled or threw. Players found the 16-play drive significant Womens Clayton Fejedelem Jersey , given how they’d been unable to do anything like it recently.“Whether or not it is just a win, it felt different,” running back Giovani Bernard said.The Bengals will have to replace tight end Tyler Eifert for their home game Sunday against Miami (3-1), which is coming off a 38-7 loss to New England . Eifert dislocated and broke his right ankle while being tackled early in the second half, his latest season-scuttling injury.“It’s rough, especially over the years how he’s dealt with some things and people try to say he’s not tough and stuff, but it’s real things that are happening to him,” tight end Tyler Kroft said Monday. “It’s not little things keeping him out. That’s what’s a shame.”Eifert stayed in Cincinnati with an incentive-laden one-year deal, extending a career that’s been sidetracked by major back, shoulder, elbow and ankle injuries. He’s played six games the past two seasons.“When you lose a great player, a lot is going to change, so we have to figure that out,” Lazor said.BURFICT BACK: Linebacker Vontaze Burfict can return this week from his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers. When he returned from injury or suspensions the past three seasons A.J. Green Jersey , he played a significant amount in his first game back.Lewis indicated there’s a chance that running back Joe Mixon, who missed the past two games following knee surgery, could return to practice this week. Mixon had a piece of torn cartilage removed from his right knee.SECOND TIME: Dalton’s winning touchdown pass was only the second in Bengals history with less than 10 seconds left in a game. The other came from Akili Smith, who threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Carl Pickens in Cleveland for an 18-17 win in 1999. It was Cincinnati’s only win in the first 11 games that season. An extensive history of injuries dropped Anderson out of the top-200 picks in the NFL Draft. An impressive blend of size and playmaking ability can make him one of the best selections from this year’s class."Starting with five picks, going to six picks, and ending up with three picks, the Bengals had an unusual amount of opportunity to work with in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft. With their first two picks in the round, they addressed their third running back opening with Texas A&M’s Trayveon Williams and the backup MIKE linebacker spot with Auburn’s Deshaun Davis. Two solid players to fill two notable needs.Many didn’t expect a second running back to be taken by Cincinnati in the draft. Many didn’t expect Rodney Anderson to be available at the 211th overall selection either. Nonetheless, the Bengals added Anderson to an already dangerous running backs room to effectively close out the sixth round.Out of the 10 players the Bengals drafted, Anderson might have the best chance to outperform his draft status. Chris Burke of The Athletic tabbed Anderson as the Bengals’ best value pick outside of the first round:When it comes to the Bengals and “when healthy” proclamations, things rarely ever pan out. But there’s many reasons why Anderson cracks this list.Leading up to the 2018 season, Anderson had just one full season of college football under his belt. Accounting for 1,442 yards from scrimmage on just 205 touches during Baker Mayfield’s Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2017, Anderson was ready to make his mark as an elite running back prospect in the form replicating that success last year. Unfortunately Womens Geno Atkins Jersey , a torn ACL during the second game of the season ended those hopes and sent his draft status into a world of skepticism.Burke does have a point though; no matter where Anderson would go off the board this past Saturday, he represented an ideal piece to round out a running back group. It just so happens he ended up with a former teammate in Joe Mixon with Cincinnati. Though they only appeared in two games with one another during Mixon’s redshirt freshman season and Anderson’s true freshman season in 2015, it’s safe to say Mixon’s excited to play with an old colleague once more.Maybe it’s just an Oklahoma thing, maybe it’s because Mixon and Anderson are roughly the same size, but the two move very similarly on the field. We never got to see Anderson test at the NFL combine or at his pro day because of the injury, but Anderson can succeed in similar ways as Mixon. When he’s healthy and ready to make an impact on Sundays, the Bengals can effectively rotate the two in and out and keep the offense the same, benefitting both of them.And down the road when it’s time decide on Mixon’s long-term future with the Bengals, Anderson can potentially take his place for the cost of a late sixth-round pick, if he proves he’s durable. Not a bad investment at all.The Bengals tried to play it safe this year, drafting players who may not develop into anything more than long-term starters. The selection of Anderson on the other hand was a swing for the fences at a position where depth was at a comfortable level. It’s hard to get more of a reward for less of a risk. |
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