But this is a report card, where things are broken down incrementally. So let’s take a look and what worked and what didn’t in one of the most unlikely comebacks in franchise history.
Rush offense: B-
The bulk of this grade comes from the sticktoitiveness rather than the production, as the Bengals finished with an average gain of 3.5 yards on their 31 carries. Not counting scrambles by quarterback Andy Dalton, the Bengals had five of their first nine rushes go for negative or no yards, including the fumble by Rex Burkhead that Seattle returned 23 yards to go up 24-7. By the end of the third quarter, Cincinnati had 28 yards on 13 non-quarterback carries. But in the fourth quarter and overtime, Giovani Bernard, who came into the game leading the AFC in yards per carry, gained 63 yards on 11 rushes to help kick start the comeback.
Pass offense: B+
Dalton threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to tight end Tyler Eifert, as the Bengals picked up 18 of their 27 first downs through the air. But Dalton also threw a costly interception in the red zone that resulted in the Bengals going into halftime trailing rather than ahead. And the offensive line allowed a season-high four sacks, although three of them came after Seattle went ahead 24-7 and began teeing off with blitzes. A.J. Green won a handful of battles against fellow Pro Bowler Richard Sherman to finish with six receptions for 78 yards, and Mohamed Sanu stepped up a season-high five catches for 69 yards.
Rush defense: D
Sunday marked the 16th time in the Marvin Lewis era the Bengals have allowed at least 200 rushing yards, and they were 2-13 in the previous 15. Cincinnati was fortunate to survive after allowing undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls, who was subbing for injured Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch, to gain 169 of those yards, 69 of which came on a third-quarter touchdown run in which the Bengals had multiple chances to bring him down. Rawls averaged 7.3 yards per carry.
Pass defense: B+
The Bengals did a good job of not letting quarterback Russell Wilson escape the pocket when they had the receivers covered. Wilson scrambled three times for 21 yards, but he’s capable of doing far greater damage. Add to that four sacks and 10 quarterback hits, and it was another solid day for the resurgent pass rush. Wilson threw for just 213 yards, but 30 of them came on an easy touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse on the Seahawks’ opening drive. The defense made up for that with a deflection by Rey Maualuga that Adam Jones intercepted at the Bengals 2 to prevent another score.
Special teams: A-
Darrin Simmons’ units sort of symbolized the way the day went for the Bengals as a whole, with a poor start followed by a strong finish. Brandon Tate repeatedly put the offense in bad starting position by bringing kickoffs out from deep in the end zone for minimal gains. But he averaged a solid 13.5 yards on his two punt returns, and Adam Jones was huge with three punt returns for a 22-yard average, including a 35-yarder setting up the touchdown that started the comeback and a 19-yarder to led to the game-winning drive in overtime. Add in Mike Nugent’s clutch game-tying field goal that came with the clock running and the Bengals out of timeouts and the 42-yard winner in overtime, and it was one of the best all-around performances by special teams this season.
Coaching: A
Once again, Jackson’s patience and willingness to stick with the run game cannot be overlooked. There’s no way the Bengals win this game by sending Dalton back to pass on every play. In fact, Dalton may not have finished the game had that been the case because the Seahawks were hitting him hard. And as much criticism as Marvin Lewis gets for his clock management, the final drive in regulation was textbook stuff. It’s still a players’ league, but you don’t rally from 17 points down against a quality opponent without some quality sideline staffing.
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