Revisiting the Cincinnati Bengals' 31-10 loss at the Houston Texans in the wild-card round:
THUMBS UP: It's really tough to be positive about any part of the Bengals' game Saturday, but A.J. Green was dominant -- at least for two quarters. The rookie wide receiver made four catches for 42 yards in the first half and drew a 52-yard pass interference penalty. The problem was, Green had one reception for five yards in the second half, when the Bengals were shut out (not a coincidence).
THUMBS DOWN: Bengals' scoring offense. Cincinnati scored a touchdown on its second drive and and never reached the end zone again. The Bengals only got into the red zone twice after Cedric Benson's 1-yard touchdown run. This was a trend for the Bengals, who were held to one touchdown in four of their final six games. Cincinnati managed two touchdowns in its final 10 quarters.
STAT THAT STICKS: 7 -- Carries by Benson in what likely will be his final game with the Bengals. There was only one time he had fewer rushing attempts in his 58-game Bengals' career, and that was his second game with Cincinnati in October 2008.
OVERHEARD: "I wasn't worried about that. You don't often see where the challenges come into play. The only thing it really would have cost us, which it didn't matter, was the timeouts before halftime. I think both times they had momentum in the game and we ended up picking up the first down. So, it wasn't a big deal. Whether you pick it up or challenge it all depends on momentum, and that is why I took the opportunity to go ahead and do it." Bengals coach Marvin Lewis on whether he was concerned about using all of his replay challenges with 4 1/2 minutes left to play in the first half.
THUMBS UP: It's really tough to be positive about any part of the Bengals' game Saturday, but A.J. Green was dominant -- at least for two quarters. The rookie wide receiver made four catches for 42 yards in the first half and drew a 52-yard pass interference penalty. The problem was, Green had one reception for five yards in the second half, when the Bengals were shut out (not a coincidence).
THUMBS DOWN: Bengals' scoring offense. Cincinnati scored a touchdown on its second drive and and never reached the end zone again. The Bengals only got into the red zone twice after Cedric Benson's 1-yard touchdown run. This was a trend for the Bengals, who were held to one touchdown in four of their final six games. Cincinnati managed two touchdowns in its final 10 quarters.
STAT THAT STICKS: 7 -- Carries by Benson in what likely will be his final game with the Bengals. There was only one time he had fewer rushing attempts in his 58-game Bengals' career, and that was his second game with Cincinnati in October 2008.
OVERHEARD: "I wasn't worried about that. You don't often see where the challenges come into play. The only thing it really would have cost us, which it didn't matter, was the timeouts before halftime. I think both times they had momentum in the game and we ended up picking up the first down. So, it wasn't a big deal. Whether you pick it up or challenge it all depends on momentum, and that is why I took the opportunity to go ahead and do it." Bengals coach Marvin Lewis on whether he was concerned about using all of his replay challenges with 4 1/2 minutes left to play in the first half.
- ESPN AFC North Blogger
- A University of Maryland graduate
- Lives in the Baltimore area with his wife
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