The Cincinnati Bengals improved to 4-2 on the season as they defeated the winless Detroit Lions 34-11 on Sunday at Ford Field.
After a lackluster first half by the Bengals' offense, the unit caught fire in the second half. Cincinnati's first drive of the second half put the Bengals up 17-0 and put the game out of reach.
Bengals rout the Lions:Ja'Marr Chase continues his star-turn
Head coach Zac Taylor opted to go for it on 4th-and-1 from the 40-yard line and Joe Burrow found a wide open Joe Mixon who ran it in for a 40-yard touchdown.
Burrow completed touchdown passes to Chris Evans, C.J. Uzomah and Mixon in the win. Rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase continues to make explosive plays for the Bengals' offense and caught four passes f for 97 yards.
The Bengals defense kept the Lions out of the end zone for the majority of the game. Detroit's only touchdown came with less than three minutes to play and majority of Cincinnati's starters out.
Here's what we learned from the Week 6 win:
Get used to hearing Chris Evans' name
Chris Evans might be moving up Cincinnati's depth chart as the team's No. 2 running back after his performance against the Lions. Evans, Cincinnati's sixth-round pick out of Michigan this year, recorded his first NFL touchdown in Detroit.
Samaje Perine has been Joe Mixon's backup all season and was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday and was unable to play. Evans made the most of his opportunities and it's likely he'll earn more playing time moving forward because of it.
The 5-foot-11, 211-pound running back caught three passes for 49 yards and one touchdown against the Lions. He also added 14 yards on the ground on three carries.
"I want to mention Chris Evans," Joe Burrow said following the game. "He's just getting better and better every single week. You see what he can do in the pass game. He got a one-on-one and ran a really great route and scored a touchdown for us. And then on the big throw to Ja'Marr in the second half, he picked up a safety pressure off the edge that was really unbelievable. He's going to keep getting more reps when he plays like that."
Trey Hendrickson playing like one of NFL's best defensive ends
When the Bengals signed defensive end Trey Hendrickson to a four-year deal worth $60 million this offseason, the expectations were high. Hendrickson was coming off a season in which he recorded 13.5 sacks in 2020
Not only has he lived up to what Cincinnati hoped he could for its defense, he's playing as good as any defensive end in the NFL right now. Hendrickson has 4.5 sacks on the season and only nine players have more sacks than he does. Not only did Hendrickson sack Goff, he also recorded two quarterback hurries and made life difficult for Detroit's quarterback all day.
"I think his motor is what separates him, truthfully," Logan Wilson said of his teammate. "He plays so hard. He's relentless to the ball. When you got a defensive end that has that skill set, what he has already and you combine that with a high motor, high effort guy, usually things are going to work out pretty well for him. I'm glad he's on our team."
Right guard could become biggest question moving forward
Heading into Sunday's game, it was unclear who would start at right guard for the Bengals. Rookie second-round pick Jackson Carman was placed on the team's reserve/COVID-19 list on Monday and didn't practice until Friday.
Zac Taylor said starting Trey Hill, Cincinnati's other sixth-round pick this year, could be an option due to limited practice reps from Carman. The Bengals started Hill against the Lions and the rookie was benched quickly after having two penalties called on him early in the first quarter.
Carman then took over at right guard but suffered an injury in the third quarter and was carted to the locker room. The Bengals say Carman suffered an illness and he did not return to the game.
It's unclear what Carman's illness is but regardless, the Bengals depth and talent at right guard might be the biggest question on offense at the moment.
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