Bengals News (10/26): Respect

Cincinnati Bengals defense ranks in the Top 10 in multiple categories
That crew went to the playoffs four times and won the AFC North twice and after seven games these guys are in similar company. They've allowed just 128 points, the third best seven-game start for a Bengals defense in this century behind only the 2005 AFC North champs (111), the 2011 Wild Card Bengals (123) and tied with 2009 AFC North champs.

NFL Power Rankings: The Bengals Are No Fluke
The NFL’s Week 7 slate was a mostly ugly affair dominated by blowouts, but it did help us learn more about which teams are for real and which are not. The Cardinals held on to the top spot in this week’s rankings with an easy win over the Texans, but their grasp on no. 1 is tenuous at best with the Buccaneers, Rams, Cowboys, Bills, and Packers continuing to stake their claims as the best team in football. This week, the Titans even threw their name into that hat after an impressive win over the Chiefs. With seven weeks in the books, here are my updated Power Rankings.

NFL Week 7 grades: Bengals get an 'A+' for destroying Ravens, Saints get 'B' for Monday win vs. Seahawks
The Ravens were the one team the Bengals weren't supposed to be able to beat. Going into Sunday, Lamar Jackson had never lost to the Bengals (5-0), he had never lost an October game to anyone (9-0) and the Bengals had only scored two offensive touchdowns against Baltimore in two years. However, that all changed in a game that might have signaled a changing of the guard in the AFC North.

NFL power rankings: Cardinals head into Week 8 unbeaten, Bengals rout Ravens
He noticed, and so week after week, I picked against them again and again; to lose to the Jaguars, the Texans, the Saints, the Buccaneers … and if you’ll remember correctly, they didn’t do a whole bunch of losing that season. That team didn’t register a loss until Week 16 in a game against the Falcons.

Around the league

NFL Week 7 takeaways - What we learned, big questions for every game and future team outlooks
The Packers got the job done in Washington with three Aaron Rodgers touchdown passes, and the Patriots hung 54 points on the Jets in a blowout win. The Giants pulled off a big win against the Panthers, and the Falcons hit a winning field goal in the final seconds to beat the Dolphins. And on Thursday night, the Browns snuck past the Broncos with Case Keenum under center.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings: Bengals making believers of us all after blasting Ravens, while Chiefs in free fall
Sure, they looked much improved on defense. Yes, the Joe Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase passing combination was off to a good start. The offensive line was better and Joe Mixon could run the ball.

Jerry Jones feels 'very good' about where Dak Prescott (calf) is coming off Cowboys' bye week
"Based on what you saw yesterday (without the boot on), that was very encouraging," Jones said. "But those things have to be monitored. You've got a solid week, which is great, to monitor that…I feel very good about where Dak is right now."

2021 NFL season, Week 7: What we learned from Saints' win over Seahawks on Monday night
Saints don't win without lights-out defense in second half. Demario Davis was all over the field in the final two quarters, causing pressure (three total QB pressures), stuffing the run with emphasis and setting the tone for the Saints in less-than-ideal conditions. He was the catalyst to an excellent call of a game by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who mixed up coverages to keep Geno Smith off-balance, ensured Seattle wouldn't be able to get much going on the ground, and capped the game with a perfectly timed safety blitz on second down, resulting in a Malcolm Jenkins sack.