3 things we learned from the Bengals’ relieving win over the Panthers

The first win is in the books, but there is still much to fix.

The Cincinnati Bengals won, but they’re still 1-3. That’s despite having a relatively easy schedule so far. Is it too early to get excited about this team?

Chase Brown looked explosive once again. Ryan Rehkow is already one of the better punters in the league. Ja’Marr Chase is capable of jaw-dropping plays. And Joe Burrow is all the way back. But we kinda already knew those things.

So what did we really learn from the Bengals’ 34-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers?

The Bengals’ only defense is a great offense

Not only will Burrow and company need to put up a lot of points to win most of the time, but they’ll also need to do so just to knock opposing offenses out of rhythm. And that’s precisely what we saw in Week 4.

It was only when Cincinnati put together back-to-back touchdown drives to end the first half and start the second half that Andy Dalton and the Panthers started to play with less composure. (In between, Carolina only had the ball with one second left at the end of the first.)

But even in a win, the Bengals still allowed 155 yards on the ground on just 18 carries (5.3 yards per attempt). Just imagine the damage that Derrick Henry, who just put up 199 yards on 24 carries against the Buffalo Bills, could do to this defense.

So, against most good teams, the Bengals will probably have to come out hot and initiate a shootout just to have a chance.

Amarius Mims is a rock at right tackle

Just two games into his NFL career, Mims has demonstrated he has the ability to make a big impact at right tackle. The rookie out of Georgia is a wall of a man who has the patience to not overreact to pass rushers. The result is keeping Burrow sack free despite facing a refined pass rusher like Jadeveon Clowney.

Not surprisingly, Mims’ initial grade from Pro Football Focus was a stellar 76.5.

The aha moment isn’t coming

A lot of Bengals fans were waiting for the breakout game when it would all come together and Cincinnati would find that stride that would carry the team to the Super Bowl.

Well, this game confirmed that it’s not going to be like that this year.

The Bengals were fighting for their playoff lives against a Panthers team that was 2-15 last season and starting a 36-year-old Andy Dalton. Cincinnati was coming off a shocking loss to the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football and, two weeks before that, a shocking loss to the New England Patriots. The team was in desperation mode.

And still, the game was tied until one second left in the first half. Cincinnati would then take a big lead, but it didn’t feel secure simply for that fact that the defense never really demonstrated it could shut down Carolina’s offense.

Without some big breaks for the Bengals defense—like a fourth down stop near the goalline by Kris Jenkins and Daijahn Anthony ripping the ball out of the hands of Feleipe Franks on a punt fake—this game would’ve looked a lot different.

Up next is the Baltimore Ravens, who just asserted their dominance over the previously-undefeated Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. It should go without saying that it’s not going to be an easy game for a team with serious flaws that don’t seem to be going away.