Bengals start season with lucky win, Reds take series from Mets

While it was ugly (and I mean UGLY), Cincinnati managed to pull out a win against Cleveland and will begin the season 1-0.  Considering this was a divisional game and Cincinnati’s historical slow starts, a lucky win is better than a well-played loss.  Cincinnati should be thanking Andre Szmyt, as his missed field goal and extra point is the reason why Cincinnati is coming out of week one victorious.  A win is a win in the NFL and Cincinnati will take an early victory any way they can.  I don’t understand what the problem is with the first two weeks under Zac Taylor, but this team will need to be a lot better going forward.  Who Dey for now, but let’s dive in:

• Cincinnati’s secondary was rough, despite two interceptions that were the receivers fault. Jeudy, Sampson, Tillman, Fannin Jr., and Flacco diced this defense up all game. 
• The play calling was atrocious outside of the first drive.  An offense with Chase X2, Higgins, Fant, Burrow, Gesicki, and company should have zero problems with opening the playbook.  This is a loaded offense, figure it out already. 
• Alright enough negativity, Chase Brown looked stellar on the first drive.  While his numbers weren’t great, he is going to be a top 5 running back in this league if he stays healthy this season. 
• Demetrius Knight Jr. was all over the field, securing 10 total tackles and showing he can be versatile in his first year as a Bengal. 
• DJ Turner II and Jordan Battle, while they had some bad plays, they secured the ball and intercepted two receiver deflections that completely changed the game.  Good teams make plays when it matters most. 
• Ryan Rehkow continues to be one of the best punters in football.  His 52.7 yard average today on 6 punts helped this team, even though it doesn’t show on the scoreboard. 

Reds Take the Series from the Mets

While it should’ve been a sweep, Cincinnati did take care of business enough to win the series against the Mets and now find themselves just 4 games back of New York.  After 143 games though, taking care of business “just enough” isn’t going to get this team in the playoffs.  I’ve waved the white flag on this Reds team, but mathematically they are certainly alive.  With three more games upcoming against the Padres, Cincinnati still can get right back into this race if they would get hot.  Elly De La Cruz will have to find a way to get back to what he was doing pre-All Star Break and the bullpen will have to bear down.  I’d highly recommend you didn’t get your hopes up though. 

Things I’d like to see Cincinnati change

• Move Elly to leadoff and let him be himself.  Francona is anti-steal for some reason and I can’t seem to understand it with a team that is struggling to string together hits. 
• Let Will Benson play.  Francona let Hurtubise and Dunn play over him to begin the season and now he’s up on the roster just wasting away.  He hits for power.  Give him at-bats. 
• Sal Stewart should be playing every day.  Whether it’s first base, third base, DH, or second base, he needs to be in the batters box as much as possible.