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Bengals Awards in 22-18 win over Patriots

Cast your vote and sound off on your winners for the Week 16 Bengals awards in their win over the Patriots!

By Anthony Cosenza
/ new

What a whirlwind of a game. It wasn’t the prettiest of affairs, but the Cincinnati Bengals got it done in Foxborough.

Cast your vote and sound off on your winners for the Bengals’ Week 16 awards from their 22-18 win over the New England Patriots!

Most Valuable Player

Joe Burrow:

While he threw two costly interceptions, Burrow sliced-and-diced the Patriots defense throughout most of the afternoon. He finished with three touchdown passes (and as an eyelash away from a fourth), as well as 375 passing yards on a 77 percent completion rate.

Trenton Irwin:

With Tyler Boyd still being hampered by his dislocated finger, Irwin has stepped in nicely since being fully activated to the roster. He finished with three catches for 45 yards and two scores, while barely missing on another beauty for the hat trick.

Tee Higgins:

The big receiver was the team’s leader in receptions (eight on nine targets) and yards (128). One of the grabs was for a score, as Higgins routinely dominated New England’s defensive backs.

Logan Wilson:

The team’s emerging star at linebacker keeps stringing together quality games. He had nine total tackles against the Patriots (a team-high), along with a sack. He was the team’s second-highest scorer in Pro Football Focus metrics, as well.

Vonn Bell:

The veteran safety has had an absolute knack for coming up with some of the biggest plays over the past few years. Whether it was knocking JuJu Smith-Schuster on his keister, or this week’s improbable strip of Rhamondre Stevenson near the goal line, he is one of the team’s most clutch players.

Poll

Who gets your vote for the Bengals’ Week 16 MVP?

This poll is closed

  • 35%
    QB Joe Burrow
    (155 votes)
  • 12%
    WR Trenton Irwin
    (55 votes)
  • 10%
    WR Tee Higgins
    (46 votes)
  • 4%
    LB Logan Wilson
    (19 votes)
  • 37%
    DB Vonn Bell
    (164 votes)
  • 0%
    Other
    (3 votes)
442 votes total Vote Now

Unsung Hero of the Week

Joe Mixon:

The team’s running back quietly had a productive day. He had over 100 yards from scrimmage (65 rushing, 43 receiving) and a solid 74.9 overall PFF score.

Mitchell Wilcox:

With Hayden Hurst out, Wilcox has been a pretty reliable short-yardage target for Burrow. In addition to helping out in the blocking game, he had six catches on as many targets for 35 yards.

Cam Sample:

Cincinnati needs quality reps from their younger edge players with both Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard battling injuries. Sample took a nice step forward this week, notching six total tackles (tied for second-highest), a sack and a 76.8 PFF score.

D.J. Reader:

Interior linemen don’t readily shoot off of the stat page, and while this week wasn’t an outlier for that with Reader, he was a force in keeping the Patriots’ rushing attack at bay. New England mustered only 61 rushing yards on just 3.8 yards per carry. He once again was a PFF all-star with an 82.7 score.

Josh Tupou:

Much like Reader, Tupou made the most of his rotational interior snaps. He had a sack of Mac Jones and was part of the great defensive effort.

Poll

Who gets your vote for the Bengals’ Week 16 Unsung Hero of the Week?

This poll is closed

  • 4%
    RB Joe Mixon
    (18 votes)
  • 4%
    TE Mitchell Wilcox
    (17 votes)
  • 28%
    DL Cam Sample
    (110 votes)
  • 60%
    DT D.J. Reader
    (229 votes)
  • 1%
    DT Josh Tupou
    (6 votes)
  • 0%
    Other
    (1 vote)
381 votes total Vote Now

Play of the Game

Tee Higgins’ 9-yard touchdown catch:

Effort, effort, effort. Higgins caught a short pass early in the contest and muscled his way into the end zone. It was just part-and-parcel of many examples of his physicality on the day, winning practically all of his battles.

Trenton Irwin’s 23-yard touchdown catch:

Irwin’s first touchdown was a beauty, from the throw to the catch and ability to hang on the ball. From the slot, Irwin worked the seam for a beautiful pitch-and-catch.

Trenton Irwin’s 4-yard touchdown catch:

Irwin’s second touchdown grab of the day was at the end of the second quarter, and it officially noted the rout was on, even if it was temporary. Irwin went out to the right flat and Burrow hit him with ease to put the Bengals up 22-0.

Vonn Bell’s strip and B.J. Hill’s recovery of Rhamondre Stevenson’s fumble:

It’s been a rough past couple of games for Stevenson. With the Patriots looking like they had an improbable win sewn up, an even more improbable thing happened with the Bengals’ defense forcing a turnover to turn the tables and allow Cincinnati to bleed out the victory.

Poll

Which play gets your vote for the best of Week 16?

This poll is closed

  • 1%
    Tee Higgins’ 9-yard touchdown
    (6 votes)
  • 9%
    Trenton Irwin’s 23-yard touchdown catch
    (33 votes)
  • 1%
    Trenton Irwin’s 4-yard touchdown catch
    (5 votes)
  • 86%
    Bengals’ defense fumble and recovery from Rhamondre Stevenson
    (290 votes)
  • 0%
    Other
    (1 vote)
335 votes total Vote Now

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