Bengals 2017 season awards: Victory of the year

Marvin Lewis salvaged his job with the Cincinnati Bengals through 2019 with two wins to close out the 2017 season. They were impressive victories, as both knocked playoff-vying teams out of the postseason race.

Still, aside from those two, the Bengals had five other quality wins in 2017, varying in degree of importance and difficulty. Which was the biggest of the year? Cast your vote and sound off on your winner!

Week 4, 31-7 win over the Browns: The Bengals seem to be able to chalk up at least one win during the preseason tally with the bi-annual “Battle of Ohio”. Hue Jackson’s crew went winless in 2017 and were stomped twice by Cincinnati.

Lewis’ team started off 0-3 but found their stride with a visit to Cleveland. The Bengals had a shutout until about two minutes left in the game, as they dominated the Browns and began to get a little bit of momentum.

Week 5, 20-16 win over the Bills: Riding the wave from the previous week’s win, the Bengals hosted a pesky Buffalo squad. Andy Dalton threw two interceptions against the aggressive Bills defense, but Cincinnati prevailed.

The big play was a 77-yard bomb to A.J. Green, while Joe Mixon added a score on the ground. However, Cincinnati’s defense stood tall, holding Tyrod Taylor to just 161 pass yards, which was impressive, given that the Bills ended up making the postseason.

Week 8, 24-23 win over the Colts: Indianapolis had a subpar season, mostly because of issues with Andrew Luck, but Week 8 was a pivotal moment for the Bengals’ season. Cincinnati entered the contest at 2-4 and needed a win to keep their slim postseason hopes alive.

Dalton had a decent day with two touchdown passes, but it was Carlos Dunlap who saved the day. He tipped a pick-six to himself and ended up sealing the win for the Bengals, who desperately needed one.

Week 11, 20-17 win over the Broncos: Cincinnati had a huge game on the horizon in Week 13 with the Steelers, but they needed to handle some business beforehand. The Bengals hadn’t won in Denver since the 1970s, so Week 11 gave them a tall order.

However, thanks to a Dre Kirkpatrick near-pick-six and a three touchdown day from Dalton, the Bengals earned a win to get them at 4-6. It was a refreshing change of pace, as Cincinnati has struggled beating the Broncos in their head-to-head history (just a 10-21 record all-time).

Week 17, 31-27 win over the Ravens: The Bengals were out of the playoff race a few weeks prior to the end of the season, but that didn’t stop them from playing the spoiler. One week after ruining the Lions’ postseason hopes, Cincinnati traveled to Baltimore as the Ravens were seeking a playoff berth.

Though he missed some passes, Dalton played a great game against the vaunted Ravens defense, throwing for three touchdowns and no interceptions. The dagger in the heart was a touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd with 44 seconds left in the game, paving the way for a feel-good story for both the Bills and Andy Dalton’s charitable foundation.