The Cincinnati Bengals received a boost from their tight ends on Sunday Night Football en route to defeating the Buffalo Bills 24-18 at the striped jungle of Paycor Stadium. It’s no secret the Bengals tight ends have been underwhelming through seven games this season. This notion was flipped on its head against Buffalo, and the game plan to feature Irv Smith Jr., Tanner Hudson, and Drew Sample was executed to perfection as they accounted for 13 targets, 10 catches, 101 yards, and 2 touchdowns on offense. Joe Burrow had confidence all night in throwing to this group, and it helped open the field for the Bengals wide receivers. Tee Higgins was the biggest beneficiary and had some huge catches to end his day with 110 yards receiving. The emergence of this three-headed monster gives the Bengals yet another dynamic for teams to try and defend.
Cincinnati Bengals Tight Ends Come Alive to Help Defeat Buffalo Bills
Irv Smith Jr.
The Bengals signed Smith to a one-year deal to try and fill the void left by Hayden Hurst in free agency. The results haven’t been what they hoped at this point in the season. Smith had a costly fumble against the San Francisco 49ers that could’ve shaken Burrow’s faith in the former Minnesota Viking. This certainly didn’t seem to be the case on the Bengals opening drive as Smith capped it off with a beautiful catch to get Cincinnati on the board first.
On the board first 👏#BUFatCIN | 📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/vB9KlW8pfL
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 6, 2023
Smith described the play and said, “It was a corner route with the safety and I saw him jump in a little bit and I jumped out and straightened him up a little bit and went for the back pylon and Joe put it right there.”
Drew Sample
Sample is a fifth-year veteran and is used primarily as a blocker on the offensive line. He’s one of the best in the business in this role and Pro Football Focus has him graded as the best pass-blocking tight end in the NFL (84.4) with 100% efficiency. Sample made a great play on a 3 & 7 to put the Bengals up by 14 before the half.
Spike that ball, @drewcal‼️#BUFatCIN | 📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/RAVx8A7GEO
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 6, 2023
The coaches have to be encouraged by Sample’s ability to make a defender miss in space and score in a big moment. This play was critical in giving Cincinnati an important points buffer that they would never relinquish.
Tanner Hudson
The final tight end who shined in the triumvirate was Hudson who was called up from the Bengals practice squad before the game. Hudson, a former High School quarterback, can look at routes the way Burrow would. This isn’t lost on the Bengals signal-caller. He noted after the game, “Tanner I have a lot of faith in. He makes plays on scout team every week, so when he was up, I felt really confident about his ability to get open and make plays for us.” Hudson was originally signed as an UDFA by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018. He spent his first season on the Bucs practice squad before playing in 11 regular season games and all four postseason games on Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV winning team. Cincinnati signed Hudson late in 2022, and the rest seems to be history. Conventional wisdom would tell you he’ll get more playing time as the season progresses, and you should never discredit a player’s long journey. Sometimes you will find a diamond in the rough.
Main Photo: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK
