Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals Midterm Report Card

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Grading the Bengals’ offense, defense, and special teams over the first eight games of the 2016 season. Here’s the midterm report.

The Bengals are 3-4-1 after a 27-27 tie with Washington last Sunday. The team heads into the Week 9 bye still within striking distance in the AFC North race.

Here is the team’s report card for the first half of the season:

Offense: C+

The good

The Bengals’ offense is ranked No. 4 in the NFL through eight weeks, averaging just under 400 yards per game.

Considering the Bengals lost Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu to free agency prior to the season, Andy Dalton‘s numbers have been pretty remarkable. On top of not having Tyler Eifert back to full strength until London, Dalton is still fourth in the league in passing and is on pace for a career-high 4,698 passing yards. Meanwhile, the Red Rifle has thrown just three interceptions, setting him up for just six for the entire year, also a career-best.

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A.J. Green has been the MVP of the Bengals’ first half, leading the NFL in catches and receiving yards. When Green is on, so are the Bengals. In his four 100-yard games this season, Cincinnati is 3-0-1, compared to an 0-4 mark when he’s held under the century mark.

Green’s hail Mary touchdown against Cleveland in week seven is NFL.com’s number one play of the midseason.

On the ground, Jeremy Hill is quietly on pace to run for over 1,000 yards after tallying a career-high 168 rushing yards against Cleveland. He’s also chimed in some other respectable games, too, against Denver (97 yards, two TDs), Miami (71 yards), and Washington (76 yards, TD).

Giovani Bernard has been the change-of-pace back as expected. He is notching 3.9 yards per carry on 77 attempts while adding 277 yards on 31 catches. Bernard is on pace for a fourth straight season with 1,000 or more all-purpose yards.

William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports

The bad

The high yardage, however, has not resulted in points. This is the reason for the grade. Cincinnati has managed just 20.9 points per game this season, a tie for 20th in the league. The Bengals were last in red zone efficiency, but have moved up to 19th after converting all of its trips over the last two games.

The Achilles’ heel of the offense has been poor offensive line play. Dalton has been sacked 25 times in eight games. That’s five more than all of last season and four more than 2014.

Defense: D+

The Bengals own the 28th ranked defense and Paul Guenther has been under fire. Cincinnati is 26th vs. the pass, 24th against the run. They allowed Trevor Siemian to throw four touchdowns in his first road start, were picked apart by Tom Brady, and let Kirk Cousins have a career-day (458 yards) last week at Wembley Stadium.

Cincinnati quietly has 16 sacks this season. But in losses to Pittsburgh, Denver, Dallas, and New England, the pass rush was practically invisible. Pro Bowlers Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins have combined for 8.5 sacks.

The Bengals have 10 takeaways, putting them in a six-way tie for 11th in the NFL.

First-year Bengal Karlos Dansby leads the team with 54 tackles but has been abysmal in pass coverage. Vontaze Burfict has 39 tackles in five games since returning from a suspension but has been a shell of his former self while tacking on an additional fine.

Cincinnati has favorable matchups on defense over the next four games, though. Each of its next four opponents ranks in the bottom half in total offense:

The Bengals added depth to the defensive line. They brought back veteran Wallace Gilberry who was released by Detroit earlier this season.

Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams: D

The Bengals’ special teams has had its up and downs this season, especially Mike Nugent. In week four, Nugent converted all five of his attempts, which was the difference in a 22-7 win over the Dolphins. In week one, Nugent’s 47-yard field goal with 54 seconds left lifted Cincinnati to a 23-22 win over the Jets.

However, the last two weeks have dragged the 12-year veteran’s name through the mud. Nugent missed a 51-yard field goal and an extra point in the tie with Washington and has now missed three field goals in the last two games.

Punter Kevin Huber, meanwhile, is averaging 45.3 yards per punt (20th in the NFL), his lowest mark since 2013. Huber is only pinning opponents inside the 20-yard line on 29.7 percent of his boots, lowest since 2011.

Last week, undrafted rookie Alex Erickson finally got a big return for the Bengals. Erickson took his lone return opportunity 65 yards to set up Cincinnati’s opening drive touchdown.

The Bengals are averaging just 40 kick return yards per game, but that can be credited to the league’s new touchback rule.

On punt returns, Adam Jones has not been able to make game-changing run backs like he has in the past. Pac-Man is averaging 3.9 yards per return, with a long of 12.

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