With four weeks of the 2018 NFL regular season now almost over the Cincinnati Bengals will remain in charge of the AFC North division with a 3-1 record.
The Bengals moved to 3-1 on the season Sunday afternoon with their last-minute score to beat the Atlanta Falcons on the road 37-36.
In the win over the Falcons, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completed 29 of his 41 total pass attempts for 337 yards with 3 touchdowns and one interception. Dalton’s final of three scoring tosses on the afternoon, a 13-yard pass to wide receiver A.J. Green in the comer of the end zone, came with 7 seconds left in the game and effectively won the game.
Green caught 4 passes for 78 yards on Sunday and fellow wide receiver Tyler Boyd added 11 receptions in the game for 100 yards. Dalton’s other two touchdown passes went to tight end Tyler Eifert and John Ross. Eifert, by the way, suffered a gruesome ankle injury during the game that will cost him the remainder of his season.
Bengals running back Giovani Bernard rushed for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns on his 15 carries against the Falcons. He also caught 4 passes from Dalton on Sunday for another 27 yards.
Defensively for the Bengals, linebacker Nick Vigil and safety Jessie Bates each recorded 8 total tackles in the Sunday win over the Falcons. The Bengals defense also sacked Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan three times on Sunday and those were credited to Geno Atkins, Carl Lawson and Carlos Dunlap. The Bengals defense, however did give up 495 net yards of offense on Sunday to Ryan and company.
Next up for the Bengals in Week 5 will be a home game against the (3-1) Miami Dolphins, who lost on Sunday to the New England Patriots.
In other Sunday afternoon AFC North action, the Cleveland Browns came very close to notching their second win of the 2018 regular season but ultimately lost in overtime to the Oakland Raiders 45-42.
The Browns led the game 42-34 with 1:38 left in the fourth quarter but after choosing to punt on a 4th and 1 from their own 18-yard-line, the Raiders marched 53 yards in 6 plays and in 58-seconds to score a touchdown. Oakland then added the two-point conversion to tie the game at 45-45 and overtime soon followed. The Raiders went on to win the game with a field goal with 1:50 left in overtime.
In the loss, Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 21 of his 41 total pass attempts for 295 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He was also sacked twice on Sunday by the Raiders defense. Mayfield’s touchdown passes went to wide receiver Jarvis Landry and tight end Darren Fells. Wide receiver Rashard Higgins led all Browns pass catchers on Sunday with 61 yards receiving on 4 catches.
Browns rookie running back Nick Chubb only carried the football three times against the Raiders, but the Georgia product gained 105 yards on those totes and 2 of them resulted in touchdowns. Fellow running back Carlos Hyde chipped in 82 yards and a touchdown on his 22 total carries as well.
Defensively for the Browns against the Raiders, linebacker Joe Schobert led his team in total tackles with 14. The Browns defense also managed to sack Raiders quarterback Derek Carr three times on Sunday and Schobert was credited with one of those. Carr was also intercepted twice by the Browns defense in Oakland.
In Week 5 the (1-2-1) Browns will host the (3-1) Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night at Heinz Field 26-14. The (1-2-1) Steelers will host the Falcons next Sunday.
