Both Sides Of The Statistical Coin

Here is our week 8 statistical breakdown of the Bengals - Seahawks game. We will begin with five good stats followed by five bad stats.

Statistics that make you smile

1. 22: The Bengals beat the Seahawks by 22 points. They wide margin is attributed to all three phases of the team contributing. It has been the third straight game in which the Bengals defense has scored a touchdown.
   
2. 44: Veteran tight-end Donald Lee was able to fill in for an injured Jermaine Gresham. He totaled 44 yards receiving, including some clutch conversions on third down. 
3. 63: In Adam Jones' first action since coming off the PUP list, he took his first punt return for 63 yards. The only thing that slowed him down was a strained hamstring. He should be good to go for next week.
4. 75: Reggie Nelson returned a Tavaris Jackson interception 75 yards for a touchdown to seal the game. After a game in which the pass defense struggled a little bit, it was nice to see a member of the defensive back close out the game.
   
5. 56: Brandon Tate returned a punt for 56 yards and a touchdown to break open the game. It was an explosive play that completely changed the momentum in the Bengals favor. It was the type of play that many were expecting out of him when the Bengals picked him up from the New England Patriots.

Statistics that make you frown

1. 2: Andy Dalton had two second half interceptions. Dalton did balance it out with two first half touchdowns and he did notch a win in Seattle, which is no easy task for a rookie quarterback. 
2. 375: The Bengals gave up 375 yards passing to Tavaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst. The Seahawks offense is not known for their prolific passing game and it was a little out of character for the Bengals defense who have played the pass pretty well so far this year.
   
3. 2: The Seahawks had two seperate receivers go over the century mark yesterday. 
   
4. 159: The Bengals were out-gained by the Seahawks by 159 yards. Taking that into account, it's a little bit surprising that the Bengals were able to win the game by 22 points. 
   
5. 7-65: The Bengals racked up seven penalties for 65 yards, including a couple of false starts by Andre Smith. The Bengals did have to resort to using a silent count which took a little getting used to, but they need to make sure this does not became a trend.