Things could not be going better for the Cincinnati Bengals after two weeks. Cincinnati has started 2-0 for the second consecutive season; however, things are more positive than they were last season.
For starters, Cincinnati’s offense struggled during the team’s first two games last season and quarterback Joe Burrow left the second game after he suffered a turf toe injury, which forced him to miss most of the season. This time around, Cincinnati has won their two matchups and played some strong football in each matchup.
Typically during training camp and preseason, some players perform unexpectedly well, but that does not always translate to the regular season. Fortunately for the Bengals, in Week 2, the story of training camp made his mark, which led to one analyst declaring him one of the winners of Cincinnati’s Week 2 performance.
Cincinnati Bengals Fan Favorite Named a Winner
Bengals Wire’s Chris Roling listed Dohnte Meyers among the winners from Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.
Roling wrote: “What can’t this guy do? Meyers had a handful of really important returns on special teams, at times being the only thing that bailed out the struggling base offense. He’s notably getting most of the work right now while Ke’Shawn Williams sits on the inactives list, and he’s making the most of it.”
Meyers quickly became a fan favorite after surprisingly earning a spot on the 53-man roster following an impressive training camp and preseason. The former Canadian Football League All-Star made the most of his opportunity in preseason, and now that appears to be translating to the regular season.
With the Bengals having a variety of different options at the wide receiver position, Meyers will struggle to see targets, but that does not mean he has not found a way to make an impact. Meyers proving to be a capable returner is what made him a lock for the 53-man roster, and now he’s even impressing at his new position.
Cincinnati’s High-Profile Additions
Additionally, it has not only been the under-the-radar training camp stories to have made an impact for Cincinnati early in the season. The team’s bigger additions this offseason have made their mark quickly on the team.
In particular, Dexter Lawrence, who the team acquired in a blockbuster trade this offseason, had a dominant performance against Houston.
Bengals on SI’s Russell Heltman wrote: “The Pro Football Focus grades are in for the Bengals 20-6 defensive statement against the Houston Texans. It marked the lowest-point total allowed in the Zac Taylor era, and Dexter Lawrence was the spearhead.
He led all Bengals players with a 91.5 defensive grade, showing why he could be an All-Pro selection with continued great play like this. He had three tackles, one for loss, and added five pressures in the game. The highlight was him stuffing a fourth-down run by the Texans.”
Meanwhile, Bengals on SI’s Landon Belote named Lawrence a winner from Sunday’s game, as he wrote: “Lawrence popped with back-to-back big plays to turn the ball over on downs in the redzone. Lawrence erupted through the offensive line on a 4th and inches and took down David Montgomery for a big time stop on what looked like a promising drive for the Houston offense.
He later had an impactful pressure on Stroud and forced him into committing an intentional grounding penalty on 3rd and 11 in the fourth quarter.”
Bengals Fan Favorite Turns Heads During Win vs. Texans