Bengals’ weekly awards from loss to Jets

The Cincinnati Bengals let a golden opportunity go through their fingers on Halloween, with more tricks than treats being witnessed. New York provided them with all they could handle, as the Jets handed the orange and black their third loss of the year.

Nevertheless, we are bringing you the nominees for the weekly awards. Cast your vote and sound off on your winners!

Most Valuable Player

Joe Burrow:

The franchise quarterback made a lot of plays to keep getting the team back into the game and give them the lead—particularly in the second half. Burrow finished 21-of-34 (62% completion rate), for 259 yards and three touchdown passes. He did have a costly interception in the fourth quarter, but made a number of big throws down the stretch.

Tee Higgins:

No. 85 had a big game after a few quiet weeks. He made some of those trademark contested catches, including a Randy Moss-like 26 yarder over a defender in the second quarter. He finished with a team-high 97 receiving yards on four catches.

Tyler Boyd:

Boyd did a little bit of everything in this one, as Zac Taylor and Brian Callahan went deeper into their bag of tricks this week. He had 69 yards on five catches, which included a sensational grab on a critical third down in the second half and a follow-up touchdown. He added a 46-yard completion to Joe Mixon, to boot.

Joe Mixon:

While Mixon didn’t have gaudy rushing numbers or a yards per carry average this week, he helped out a bunch through the air and got into the end zone twice. Once was on the ground and the other through the air, as he finished with 91 scrimmage yards and the two scores.

Vonn Bell:

There wasn’t much to cheer about with the Bengals’ defense this week, but the veteran safety was one of the lone bright spots. He had nine total tackles (five solo), a forced fumble and recovery, as well as the top Pro Football Focus score for the team with an 89.0.

Unsung Hero of the Week

Ja’Marr Chase:

The Jets did everything possible to not let Chase get the big play and it largely worked. He had just three catches on nine targets for 32 yards, but one was a 21-yarder and another was a touchdown. Chase did add a nine-yard run as well.

Riley Reiff:

Cincinnati continues to have issues with consistency on the offensive line, but the tackles continue to play pretty well. Reiff had the highest PFF score of all linemen with an 82.4 overall.

Evan McPherson:

There was a breeze at MetLife Stadium this week, making kicks a bit tricky, but McPherson nailed all attempts. He had a field goal and four extra points, accounting for seven of the team’s 34 points by himself.

Trey Hendrickson:

Again, “inconsistent” would put it mildly for the performance by Cincinnati’s defense, but Hendrickson had a couple of nice plays. One was a sack, which was part of his six total tackles on the day.

Jessie Bates III:

The star safety has had a bit of an up-and-down year, but he did have what should have been the play of the game, if not getting tackled at the last moment. Bates picked off Mike White in the first quarter and took it down to the Jets’ 1-yard line. He also had eight total tackles, with six of them being the solo variety.

Play of the Game

Jessie Bates’ interception and 65-yard return:

Had one of his teammates just picked up one final block, we may be talking about a different outcome. Regardless, after a sluggish start, Bates provided what should have been the early knockout blow to a struggling Jets team with an inexperienced quarterback. Regardless, the offense should have been able to get points off of this play.

Tee Higgins’ 26-yard jump ball reception:

The Bengals’ rookie wide receiver has been getting most of the fanfare this year and for good reason. However, Higgins made some nice plays on Sunday, highlighted by this circus grab in the second quarter. The play set up a short touchdown to Chase.

Tyler Boyd’s 46-yard pass to Joe Mixon:

Taylor and Callahan pulled one out of the Jets’ playbook on Sunday when they went with some trickery on Halloween. Boyd floated a beauty to Mixon across the field, while the running back used his blocks nicely to nearly get into the end zone.

Joe Mixon’s 8-yard touchdown reception:

Cincinnati just kept hammering the ball into the end zone in a variety of different ways and Mixon was a big part of that. Unable to get much going on the ground, Mixon repeatedly helped out as a receiver and continues to be a multi-dimensional threat.

(3:26 mark in video below)

Tyler Boyd’s 10-yard touchdown reception:

Boyd had a quiet first half, but with the Bengals desperately looking to pull away from the Jets, Burrow went his way in crunch time. After extending the drive with a huge 3rd-and-10 conversion, Boyd grabbed a touchdown on 3rd-and-6 to give the Bengals a seemingly-insurmountable 11-point lead.