NFL Week 3: Bengals’ Most Valuable Player vs Packers

In what could be coined as a must-win game in Week 3, the Cincinnati Bengals put forth a valiant effort against the Green Bay Packers, but they came up short. New offensive coordinator Bill Lazor came up with a solid game plan that gave us a glimpse as to how things may be shaping up for the rest of the year.

Here are the nominees for the Bengals’ Week 3 Most Valuable Player. Cast your vote and sound off on your winner!

Quarterback Andy Dalton: After two weeks of a lot of questions about his abilities, Dalton did pretty well under Lazor. Dalton still missed a couple of critical throws and slowed down in the second half, but finished 21-of-27 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He also didn’t have a turnover on the afternoon.

Running back Joe Mixon: Lazor’s priorities were clearly to get the football in his most explosive players’ hands and No. 28 was one of those targets. Mixon finished with 18 carries for 62 yards and three catches for 39 yards.

Wide receiver A.J. Green: The star receiver called for the ball after the team’s Week 2 loss against the Texans and he delivered. Green had 10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown, as he dominated the Green Bay secondary.

Edge rusher Carl Lawson: Even though the 2017 draft class seemed to be chock full of talent, the first of three fourth round picks seemed to have been the highest value of the group. In some of his most extensive play of the season, Lawson made the Packers’ offensive line look silly with 2.5 sacks and four total tackles.

Cornerback Darqueze Dennard: In an odd twist, the Bengals finally caught a glimpse of the potential of two of their recent first round picks at cornerback. Dennard arguably had his best game as a pro, garnering a sack and 10 total tackles.

Cornerback William Jackson III: Like Dennard, Jackson shined when given some significant snaps on Sunday. Dre Kirkpatrick and Adam Jones had their respective moments of struggles, but Jackson had a pick-six (just the second in Aaron Rodgers’ career) and three total tackles.