10 winners and 4 losers from Bengals’ fun win over the Raiders

An MVP-like day for Joe Burrow.

To say that the Cincinnati Bengals needed this win over the Las Vegas Raiders is an understatement. To gain some momentum heading into a big, road divisional game next week and build confidence, Cincinnati needed a dominant performance, and it delivered.

Here is the best and worst of the Bengals’ 41-24 win over the Raiders.

Winners

Joe Burrow

The Bengals’ star quarterback started red-hot, going 15 for his first 15 attempts. His pinpoint accuracy was needed after the defense let up an opening drive touchdown to the Raiders. It obviously gave way to some incompletions, but Burrow continues his MVP pace with his immense efficiency despite the big pick-six in the fourth quarter.

Chase Brown

The “backup” running back was arguably the MVP of the day. Whether it was running or catching, Brown was a do-it-all weapon for the Bengals and supplied big plays all afternoon. He had over 150 all-purpose yards and had a touchdown.

Mike Gesicki

Even when they don’t end up being complete, Gesicki keeps making highlight grabs. Gesicki had a couple of critical drive-extending grabs, and they were the type that only his kind of catch radius and ability in traffic could make on this roster. It’s huge that he’s stepping up with so many wide receivers out of Cincinnati’s lineup.

Andrei Iosivas

After being a bit of a ghost these past few weeks, “Yoshi” stepped up with a HUGE touchdown grab right before the half. To open the third, he forced a big pass interference penalty to set up another score. While his targets and catches have been limited, he still remains a highly effective red-zone weapon when called upon.

Zac Taylor

The team needed not only a win but a convincing, confidence-building one. They got just that while heading into a big rematch clash with the Ravens. The team had some turmoil with injuries and the Jermaine Burton saga.

Drew Sample

The guy who routinely does the dirty work actually got into the big plays on Sunday. Sample had a couple of catches, including a first-down conversion and a gut-punch of a touchdown reception on a third-and-goal.

Darrin Simmons

The masses have been clamoring for a “three-phase game,” and special teams stepped up this week. Evan McPherson rebounded well, and Ryan Rehkow continued to boom the ball.

Trey Hendrickson

At first, it looked like slow-going for Hendrickson, who had an uncharacteristically bad game against back and former friend Fred Johnson last week. But No. 91 turned it on to the tune of four sacks against Las Vegas, putting him in the NFL lead in that category.

Amarius Mims

It’s never an easy task to take on Maxx Crosby, but despite early issues against the Pro Bowler, Mims ended up having a solid day overall, allowing no hits or sacks.

That’ll do.

Kris Jenkins

The second-round rookie had a solid day overall, including his first NFL sack. It came after BJ Hill left the game with a rib injury and was declared out. If Hill misses significant time again, it means Jenkins will be in for an extended role moving forward.

Losers

Zack Moss

As mentioned, Brown shined in a big-time role. Moss, who might be headed to IR, even if short-term, might be relegated to minimal carries when back.

BJ Hill

As mentioned above, Hill left this one with a rib issue and was quickly ruled out, putting his status in serious doubt for Thursday’s game vs. the Baltimore Ravens and beyond. While Hill has had some good moments this season, a second significant injury would be brutal, especially since the 29-year-old lineman is in a contract year.

Erick All Jr.

All has had a promising season as a blocking tight end thus far, but he went down with a knee injury in the first half of this game and never returned. It was officially a right knee injury, and he was initially listed as doubtful to return before later being downgraded to out. It’s the same knee All tore his ACL in last season while at Iowa. Let’s hope this isn’t serious.

Jermaine Burton

We should be talking about a good game for Burton after getting a significant workload for the first time this season. Instead, we’re talking about how he was a healthy scratch after missing Saturday’s walkthrough. You have to wonder when Burton will get a chance to even be active in a game again if he’s making those kinds of mistakes.