The Bengals and Andy Dalton picked up where they left off. The offense took the field and ran like a well-oiled machine. If there were any worries about a lack of desire, it wasn’t evident from the starters. In the end, the Vikings won. But, the 17-16 score didn’t tell the whole story. From the beginning, there was a sense of purpose to what Cincinnati was doing.
The Bengals owned and dominated the first quarter. In fact, the entire game was an exercise in keep-away tactics. The total time of possession for Cincinnati was 31:29. That may seem like a close game, but it truly wasn’t.