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It was a valiant effort by the Cincinnati Bengals against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, but they came up short once again. It was really an example of how the season has gone, but many performances were noticeable for various reasons.
Cast your vote and sound off on your nominees for each one of those aforementioned performances!
Most Valuable Player
Joe Mixon: With A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert out of the lineup, the Bengals have needed strong outputs from Mixon. And, despite defenses keying on him, he has supplied big plays for Cincinnati.
Mixon rushed 26 times for 111 yards and a touchdown. He also caught five passes 27 yards, accounting for 46% of the team’s total yardage.
Jeff Driskel: When you’re forced to start your backup quarterback, much less on the road against a playoff team, it’s an uphill battle. It wasn’t the prettiest of days by Driskel, as he ran into sacks a couple of times, but he got them in position to potentially tie the game towards the end.
Driskel finished with 170 passing yards, a touchdown and zero interceptions, along with 12 rushing yards. He had what seemed like an additional rushing touchdown, but it was called back on the enforcement of a very questionable rule.
Randy Bullock: Though he didn’t have any extra point tries, Bullock was perfect on field goal tries on Sunday afternoon. He was 3-for-3, including a 47-yard boot and kept the Bengals in the game until the end.
Carlos Dunlap: The big defensive end had a nice day after being pretty silent in recent weeks. He had a quarterback sack, four tackles and two passes defended.
Poll
Who gets your vote for the Bengals’ Week 14 MVP award?
This poll is closed
-
87%
Joe Mixon
(148 votes) -
4%
Jeff Driskel
(8 votes) -
1%
Randy Bullock
(2 votes) -
4%
Carlos Dunlap
(8 votes) -
2%
Other
(4 votes)
Unsung Hero of the Week
Christian Ringo: Injuries have hit the Bengals’ interior defensive line with frequency this year, causing the team to rely on Ringo late in the season. He stepped up in a big way on Sunday, grabbing a half sack and another tackle-for-loss.
John Ross: Well, the long bombs aren’t very frequent and Ross is grabbing just 1.8 catches per game, but the second-year man keeps getting in the end zone. He nabbed his sixth touchdown of the season against the Chargers, with two total catches for 11 yards.
William Jackson: It was a solid day from the team’s No. 1 corner, as he shut down players he was covering frequently. He had three tackles, but also two passes defended to contain the explosive Chargers offense.
Tyler Boyd: It wasn’t a gigantic day from Boyd, but he had three catches for 53 yards. He continues to step up as the team’s primary receiver with Green on Injured Reserve and is just 10 yards away from his first 1,000-yard season.
Kevin Huber: The veteran punter hasn’t had a banner year, but he was a major factor in keeping the game so close on Sunday. All three of Huber’s punts were in Los Angeles’ 20-yard line, as he held a 44-yard average.
Poll
Who gets your vote for the Bengals’ Week 14 Unsung Hero of the Week?
This poll is closed
-
37%
Christian Ringo
(55 votes) -
4%
John Ross
(7 votes) -
41%
William Jackson
(61 votes) -
6%
Tyler Boyd
(9 votes) -
9%
Kevin Huber
(14 votes) -
0%
Other
(1 vote)
Goat of the Week
Alex Redmond: Yes, Redmond was part of a crew who paved the way for a 100-yard rusher, but his penalty bug-a-boo struck again. He was flagged for a critical false start on an early 4th-and-goal to make the Bengals settle for a field goal.
Hardy Nickerson: As has been the case with a number of positions, the Bengals have been forced to start a former undrafted player at a critical spot. He only had two tackles and was noticeably steps behind on some plays.
Darqueze Dennard: The former first round pick was filling in on the outside for Dre Kirkpatrick and it didn’t go so well. He had a defended pass, but he was also victimized on the first drive, as Keenan Allen beat him for a score.
Bobby Hart: The team’s right tackle had his share of struggles once again, and like Redmond, one of them was in the form of a penalty. He too had a false start, but fortunately, the Bengals bailed themselves out of a third-and-long situation.
Poll
Who gets your vote for the Bengals’ Week 14 Goat of the Week?
This poll is closed
-
31%
Alex Redmond
(45 votes) -
30%
Hardy Nickerson
(44 votes) -
4%
Darqueze Dennard
(6 votes) -
28%
Bobby Hart
(41 votes) -
4%
Other
(7 votes)
Play of the Week
John Ross’ 6-yard touchdown catch: Buddy Ryan famously uttered a statement about Cris Carter’s value and the “stigma” of being able to “only catch touchdowns” is starting to apply to Ross. The second-year receiver grabbed his sixth touchdown in 10 games this year.
All John Ross does is catch touchdowns pic.twitter.com/WVUg8A139a
— Dadio Makdook (@dadiodefacto) December 9, 2018
Tyler Boyd’s 20-yard touchdown reception: Boyd didn’t get into the end zone on Sunday, but he did have a huge play late in the contest. He hauled in a 20-yard pass, which was the biggest completion of the day by Driskel and the Bengals. It set up a critical touchdown with under two minutes to play.
Driskel to Boyd for a big gain pic.twitter.com/CfWzlFTxWc
— Dadio Makdook (@dadiodefacto) December 9, 2018
Joe Mixon’s 1-yard touchdown run: It’s not common that a short touchdown makes this list, but the importance of Mixon’s run can’t be understated in this specific contest. Mixon ran well all day and this important run was a microcosm of his afternoon.
#Bengals RB Joe Mixon punches in the 1 yard TD vs the #Chargers pic.twitter.com/oVwXGrwzNI
— Roto Street Journal (@RotoStJournal) December 9, 2018
Poll
What play was the best by the Bengals in Week 14?
This poll is closed
-
20%
John Ross’ 6-yard touchdown catch
(24 votes) -
59%
Tyler Boyd’s 20-yard touchdown reception
(70 votes) -
11%
Joe Mixon’s 1-yard touchdown run
(13 votes) -
8%
Other
(10 votes)