Bengals re-open battle for No. 1 pick with upset of Jets

The Cincinnati Bengals are winless no more! The Bengals surprisingly thumped the New York Jets 22-6 in Week 13 to win their first game of the season and improve to 1-11. The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2008 Detroit Lions, and 2017 Cleveland Browns can put the champagne back on ice.

The win reignites the race for the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Cincinnati had a two-game lead for the pick, but their win coupled with the Giants loss to the Packers means we are back to a two-team race for the top pick.

New York took an early 3-0 lead but after an exchange of punts, Cincinnati caught fire. Andy Dalton drove the Bengals 62 yards on seven plays and capped it with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Boyd. The Bengals added ten more points to take a 17-3 lead nearing the end of the first half

The Jets put together what looked like it could be an impressive drive to close out the first half. They drove to the Bengals 30 in just over 90 seconds only to stall out at the 21 and kick a field goal. The Jets could get nothing going in the second half. Sam Darnold threw for 239 yards, but only averaged 5.0 yards per attempt. Le’Veon Bell and Bilal Powell combined for 46 yards on the ground. It was a mess of a performance.

The Bengals travel to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 14. The Jets host the Miami Dolphins.