The Cincinnati Bengals outlasted the Baltimore Ravens in the wild card round of the playoffs.
In doing so, the team got some huge performances from both expected and unexpected names, especially as the team shifted the schematic approach to counter Batomore’s triple-option attack.
Besides simple top grades, it’s worth looking at how a few guys did on limited snaps and especially at guys who could be filling in for injured players in the future.
Here’s a look at some of the most notable Pro Football Focus grades from the team’s win before they start prep for the showdown with the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round.
Offensive top five
QB Joe Burrow — 84.2
WR Ja’Marr Chase — 71.2
WR Tee Higgins — 69.4
C Ted Karras — 69.3
RB Joe Mixon — 62.6
No stunners here. Burrow was elite and so were his top two targets. Karras, the last non-rookie starter on the offensive line played a good game and he’ll need to keep doing so if the team’s to advance.
Defensive top five
LB Akeem Davis-Gaither — 87.1
LB Logan Wilson — 82.1
DL Jay Tufele — 78.9
DE Cam Sample — 76.5
CB Mike Hilton — 69.0
Look at Davis-Gaither go, registering that key interception on a limited number of snaps. And an underrated thing to watch — the depth of the defensive line has been improving its play all season and that’s the sort of thing that could propel the entire team to a title.
Jackson Carman watch
Carman took over for the injured Jonah Williams at left tackle and finished with a 49.6 offensive grade, earning a 49.3 pass-blocking grade and a little less as a run blocker. That’s not great, but Williams had a lower pass-blocking grade but a much higher run-blocking grade.
While not ideal, Carman was thrown to the wolves unexpectedly and it’s the spot he played in college, so there’s always hope he can improve the numbers next week.
Biggest surprise
Jessie Bates’ 56.4 defense grade, ranking him 15th on the defense. He had a superb day from the looks of it, including taking the right angle and making what turned out to be a game-saving tackle. Graders, though, didn’t seem to like his day in coverage, which brought his overall grade down to nearly Eli Apple’s, who got burnt terribly on a touchdown.
Akeem Davis-Gaither spotlight
Not only did Davis-Gaither have that big defensive grade on limited snaps, he led all Bengals special-teamers with a superb 92.3 grade, making four tackles. The next highest grade was a 73.6. He’s not likely to step into a full-time defensive role in future years and keep the same impact, but he’s an outstanding piece of the puzzle in more ways than one.
