Week 3 Bengals vs Ravens: Unsung Hero of the Week

This week became difficult to discern the MVP nominees to the Unsung Heroes. The prevailing headlines from the Bengals' 28-24 win on Sunday revolved around some of the major position players. Still, as with any victory in the game of football, there were a number of others who quietly did good work as the spotlight shined on others.

Keep in mind that we usually don't nominate the same players on the MVP List and this one. Call it trying to spread the wealth. Cast your vote and sound off in the comments on your winner!

Giovani Bernard, RB: It wasn't exactly a banner game by running back standards, but Bernard had a number of effective plays against Baltimore. He had 49 rushing yards and 34 yards on three catches--the biggest was a 23-yard catch on the game-winning drive.

Domata Peko, DT: While his play has been in question over the past couple of seasons, Peko has had a solid start to the season. He was very disruptive on a line that only surrendered 36 rushing yards and a two-yards-per-carry average. Peko only finished with three total tackles, but came up big on a day the Bengals were without Marcus Hardison and Pat Sims.

Geno Atkins, DT: It wasn't a type of game Peko has had in Weeks 1 and 2, but he too was disruptive up front. He had a tackle for loss and four total, but also frustrated the Ravens' offensive line. How so, you ask? The Ravens had 13 penalties on the afternoon, with about half of those assigned to their offensive line, showing how much he and Peko were in their heads. He also had a +2.6 Pro Football Focus score.

Mohamed Sanu, WR: It's been a relatively quiet season for No. 12, but he's making the most of the few opportunities the coaches give him. He finished the day with one carry for six yards two catches for 28 yards. Both of the receptions should be well-remembered, as he trucked a defensive back on one and 19 yards on another while the Bengals were engineering the game-winning drive.

Michael Johnson, DE: Would you believe that No. 90 was the Bengals' second highest-rated player on the afternoon by PFF standards? Now, personally speaking, I don't like using that site's metrics as absolute NFL scripture, but a bit of stock has to be placed in their number-crunching. Johnson finished with a +4.3 overall score and heavily contributed to the line's dominance against the Ravens' running game, even though he only had one total tackle on the stat sheet.

Andrew Whitworth, OT: It wasn't the same kind of game we have been accustomed to seeing from Cincinnati's big uglies up front, but Whitworth had a pretty solid afternoon. Neither of the two sacks allowed were No. 77's responsibility, and he was the highest-graded offensive lineman for the team by PFF at +2.8 overall.