According to Cold Hard Football Facts, the Cincinnati Bengals averaged 4.72 yards-after-the-catch in 2010, which ranked 26th in the NFL. Six teams ranked worse, three of which were playoff teams in Indianapolis, New Orleans and the Atlanta Falcons, who averaged a league worst 3.97 (which might explain trading so high during the NFL Draft to select a wide receiver in the first round). For the Bengals, 43.15% of their yards receiving last year came on yards after the reception.
As for the individual, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson averaged a ridiculous 7.74 yards after the catch, which is by far the best average amongst wide receivers with 40 receptions or more. Washington's Santana Moss posted a league high 505 yards-after-the-catch.
According to Sports Illustrated's statistical compilation of yards after the catch, the Bengals were milling around the averages. Of the big five receivers and Jermaine Gresham, Chad Ochocinco is the only player to sport an average yard after the catch of less than three. Gresham, on the other hand, averaged 6.9 yards after the catch and over three-fourths of his yards came after the catch.
| Rec. | Yds | YAC | YAC Avg. | % of Rec. | |
| Terrell Owens | 72 | 983 | 288 | 4.00 | 29.30% |
| Chad Ochocinco | 67 | 831 | 164 | 2.45 | 19.74% |
| Jordan Shipley | 52 | 600 | 209 | 4.02 | 34.83% |
| Jermaine Gresham | 52 | 471 | 359 | 6.90 | 76.22% |
| Andre Caldwell | 20 | 345 | 113 | 5.65 | 38.55% |
| Jerome Simpson | 20 | 277 | 89 | 4.45 | 32.13% |
The fact is that the Cincinnati Bengals didn't relay on the big plays to win ball games. In fact, they only won four ball games, probably because they weren't really good at making big plays.