{"id":150514,"date":"2023-10-23T15:29:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=150514"},"modified":"2023-10-23T15:29:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T19:29:06","slug":"the-3-biggest-surprises-this-season-for-the-cincinnati-bengals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2023\/10\/23\/the-3-biggest-surprises-this-season-for-the-cincinnati-bengals\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 Biggest Surprises This Season for the Cincinnati Bengals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cincinnati Bengals have played six games and are fortunate to sit at .500 with 11 games left. The offense has struggled mightily since Joe Burrow<\/a> injured his calf in training camp as evidenced by their NFL rank of 32. The defense has been better the last two games but also has its demons in stopping the run and getting off the field on third down. The Bengals come off the bye week and will face one of the best teams in the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers<\/a>. Cincinnati is at a pivotal crossroads in their season with little room for error after the entire AFC North won this weekend. The Bengals need to get back on track and play more balanced football if they want to win their third consecutive AFC North title. Let’s take a look at the three biggest surprises of the season thus far.<\/p>\n

[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query=”fbp\/cincinnati_bengals” size=”350×300″ site_id=”lastwordonsports”]<\/p>\n

The 3 Biggest Surprises This Season for the Cincinnati Bengals<\/h2>\n

DJ Turner<\/h3>\n

The Bengals drafted DJ Turner<\/a> out of Michigan in the 2nd Round of the 2023 NFL Draft at 60th overall. He tested<\/a> extremely well at the combine earning the 4th-highest athleticism score with a 97 and ran a 4.26 40-yard dash. These exceptional traits have translated well at the next level as Tuner has been fantastic in stripes.<\/p>\n

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JuanDrago \u201cDJ\u201d Turner has been SHUTDOWN through six weeks and it isn\u2019t being talked about enough:<\/p>\n

\u2022 144 coverage snaps
\u2022 15 targets
\u2022 5 receptions allowed (43 yards)
\u2022 0 TD\u2019s allowed
\u2022 2 passes defensed
\u2022 42.4 passer rating allowed<\/p>\n

And Turner has been facing WR\u2019s like DK\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/9tVyLj9phs<\/a><\/p>\n

— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) October 16, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n