The Good: The running backs had one of the most productive games in a while in terms of yards per carry, with Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard combining to average 4.3.
The Bad: After a productive 7-yard gain on his first jet sweep, Alex Erickson got stopped for a 1-yard loss on the second one.
Key Play: Mixon's 3-yard touchdown run came on the first play after a turnover and cut the Titans lead to 14-13 late in the first half.
Grade: C+
›› Silence speaks in ejection-marred loss for Bengals
PASS OFFENSE
The Good: Andy Dalton had a 100.3 passer rating as he rediscovered A.J. Green to stop the Pro Bowl receiver's slump with a big day that produced five catches for 115 yards, including a go-ahead 70-yard touchdown with 5:03 remaining. Brandon LaFell came up big as well with season highs in receptions (six) and yards (95), including a 37-yard touchdown.
The Bad: Dalton was 4 of 9 for 22 yards on third down and lost two fumbles on pass plays, one on a strip sack and on a dropped snap. One of the incompletions came when rookie wide receiver John Ross stopped on a go route, signaling why the coaches still feel he's not ready to be a big part of the game plan.
Key Play: The strip sack, which came when Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo blew past left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi, gave Tennessee the ball at the Cincinnati 27 and led to the host's second touchdown for a 14-6 lead five minutes before halftime.
Grade: C-
›› Ross on missed deep ball: “It’s all my fault”
RUSH DEFENSE
The Good: The Bengals rebounded from the loss of middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict and actually played better defense without him in the second half, holding the Titans to 51 yards on 17 carries.
The Bad: Lots of missed tackles led to the Titans rolling up 180 yards on the ground with a 5.0 average. Tennessee had three players log runs of at least 20 yards.
Key play: Marcus Mariota's 8-yard run that came up just short of the pylon was the play that ended with Burfict making contact with an official, resulting in his ejection.
Grade: D-
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PASS DEFENSE
The Good: Darqueze Dennard's interception one play after Dalton had lost a fumble in the red zone was huge, setting up Mixon's 3-yard touchdown on the next play. Will Jackson recorded his first career sack. And Dre Kirkpatrick's forced fumble against Corey Davis at the 1-yard line could have been one of the plays of the year had the Bengals managed to win the game. The play resulted in a touchback and kept the Bengals alive instead of going down 11 with 13 minutes to go.
The Bad: Jackson also recorded his team-high seventh penalty as part of wave that plagued the Bengals all day. Six of the team's 12 penalties came while defending passes, including three by Josh Shaw in the fourth quarter, all of which came on third down and gave the Titans a first down.
Key play: DeMarco's game-winning 7-yard touchdown reception with 36 seconds to go is the definition of "key."
Grade: C-
›› 5 things to know about Bengals loss to Titans
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Good: Kevin had a season-long 63-yard punt as part of an impressive day that saw him average 50.1 with a 47.3 net. Huber dropped three punts inside the 20, including one in which rookie Brandon Wilson made a great play to tap the ball back to Cody Core, who downed it at the 1-yard line. Adam Jones added a 23-yard punt return.
The Bad: Randy Bullock missed an extra point and almost shanked a second one that hit off the upright before going through.
Key Play: After the Bengals had cut the deficit to 7-6, the Titans' Adoree' Jackson ripped through the middle of the kick coverage unit until Core brought him down with a great, touchdown-saving tackle. And the Titans ended up punting a few plays later.
Grade: A-
VIDEO: Watch Burfict actions that led to ejection
COACHING
The Good: Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther was able to mix and match his pieces in the wake of the losses of Burfict (ejection), Jones (concussion) and Jackson (toe) and nearly blanked the Titans in the second half.
The Bad: That Marvin Lewis has yet to get through to Burfict to curb his behavior is as big of a failure as his 0-7 record in the playoffs.
Key Play: The Burfict ejection. What else?
Grade: C-
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SUNDAY’S GAME
Bengals at Broncos, 4:25 p.m., WHIO-TV Ch. 7, Ch. 12, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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