They say that the great thing about the internet is immediacy. In that spirit, I'm writing about yesterday's Bengals win about 21 or so hours after it went final, with ten unconnected thoughts about yesterday's game.
This effort will be far more timely as the season progresses...
*The two most encouraging things about yesterday's win were that the offensive gameplan seemed to emphasize getting the ball to its best guys and that the defense's depth paid off. Fejedelem. Vigil. Kirkpatrick. Dunlap. Bates. Nickerson. Some of those guys, you expect to come up big. Others, not so much.
*He didn't have a huge game, but man, is it nice to have Tyler Eifert back. Also, welcome to the NFL, John Ross.
*The news roughing the passer rules suck. Yesterday, they were correctly enforced.
*The offensive line wasn't great. I don't believe it needs to be. That said, Bobby Hart and Alex Redmond...hoo boy. Also, "hoo boy" is great analysis.
*22 touches for Joe Mixon is a very nice start. That number should also be the minimum for his touches per game. Also, I like the work that the people at Pro Football Focus do. I use their stuff quite often. I'd like to know more about how Mixon's final grade for the game was just 59.5.
*That the defense bookended the game with a turnover on its first drive and one on what was effectively its last, is significant. The biggest difference in the D this season must be an increase in turnovers.
*That vaunted Bengals pass rush we've talked about so much was largely absent. The young guys did little. Fortunately, Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap still play for the Bengals.
*Lucas Oil Stadium remains my favorite place to watch professional football, and yesterday being my sixth Bengals/Colts game in Indy, the fans up there have always been friendly.
*Andrew Luck looked really, really good for most of the afternoon. This isn't a Bengals thought, but still.
*I sent a tweet as Luck and the Colts were driving for what everyone at Lucas Oil believed was going to be the winning score. You know you felt the way I did.