Here are the grades from Paul Brown Stadium.
Rush offense: A-
Jeremy Hill ran for a career-high three touchdowns and Giovani Bernard scored another as the Bengals produced 124 yards on the ground at a clip of 4.8 yards per rush.
Wide receiver Marvin Jones added a 6-yard gain on a reverse and Andy Dalton averaged 5.3 yards on three scrambles as the Bengals recorded eight of their 18 first downs via the run.
Pass offense: A
Andy Dalton completed passes to six receivers and threw for more than 300 yards for the second game in a row. More importantly, there were no interceptions and no sacks for the third time in four games, and that comes against two of the best pass-rushing linebackers in the game in Kansas City’s Justin Houston and Tamba Hali.
The Chiefs didn’t even register a quarterback hit against Dalton, who connected on his first 10 passes of the game and finished with an average of 18.9 yards per completion.
Rush defense: B-
Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles got loose for a 24-yard gain late in the second quarter, but the Bengals defense did a decent job of limiting the dynamic Pro Bowler to 51 yards on his other 10 carries.
The Bengals came into the game allowing 76.7 rushing yards per game, which was fifth best in the league. That number will rise a little after giving up 113, but it was a passable effort.
Pass defense: C+
The 386 yards Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith threw for was a big number, but any time you keep the other team out of the end zone you deserve an above-average grade.
As it has done all year, the Bengals secondary did a good job of keeping everything in front of it and forcing the Chiefs to string together long drives. And the front four had a massive day with five sacks, although that number is tempered somewhat by the fact the Chiefs came into the game having allowed the most sacks in the NFL.
Special teams: C+
Punter Kevin Huber averaged 47.7 gross and net on his three punts, including a field position-flipping 67-yarder in the first half, but not much else stood out for Darrin Simmons’ troops.
Kicker Mike Nugent missed a 44-yard field goal and had only one of his six kickoffs result in a touchback, while the Bengals averaged 7 yards on their only punt return and 17.7 on three kick returns.
The kick coverage unit was decent, allowing the Chiefs only 21.8 yards on their five returns.
Coaching: B
More solid game plans from offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther as the Bengals scored on their first two drives of the game and held the opponent without a touchdown in the first half in the fourth consecutive contest.
P lenty of credit is deserved for keeping the team on track and avoiding the trap the Bengals fell into after last year’s 3-0 start and for having backups such as safety Shawn Williams, cornerback Darqueze Dennard and wide receiver Brandon Tate step in and play key roles.
But at the same time some of blame for another rash of penalties has to fall back on the coaching staff. The Bengals were flagged 11 times for 84 yards one week after drawing nine penalties for 67 yards in Baltimore.
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