The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Bengals vs. Raiders Recap

The Cincinnati Bengals traveled to Las Vegas and defeated the Raiders by a score of 32-13. The Bengals improved to 6-4, and the Raiders dropped to 5-5. Cincinnati snapped their two-game losing streak after their bye week, and Las Vegas lost their third straight game.

The Bengals are a half a game ahead of the Browns in third place in the AFC North. The Raiders are tied for last in the AFC West after the loss on Sunday. The game was close through three quarters, but the Bengals were able to take advantage of some key turnovers to outscore the Raiders 19 to 7.

Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Sunday’s matchup.

The Good: Winning when you need to win

The Bengals overcoming their losing streak and winning a much-needed game was "the good” from this matchup. Joe Mixon was the highlight of the Bengals offense after a slow start. He added 123 yards on 30 carries with two touchdowns and ultimately, was the reason why the Bengals were able to dismantle the Raiders’ defense.

The defense held the Raiders’ to under 300 yards and got a couple of takeaways late in the game to seal the game. The Bengals, as a whole, had zero penalties in this game which helped them keep their momentum and prevent any mistakes from impeding their progress.

The Bad: Radiers' sloppy offensive play

The Raiders’ offense was “the bad” part of the game because they couldn’t get anything going through the air or on the ground. Derek Carr went 19-27 for 215 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also fumbled on the last drive on a sack to give the ball away one last time to the tenacious Bengals’ defense.

Josh Jacobs found very little success on the ground as usual with 37 yards on 9 carries. Darren Waller was the one bright spot for the Raiders on offense as he hauled in seven receptions for 116 yards.

The Ugly: Being in "Win or Go Home" mode

The Raiders fall to 5-5 and have lost three straight which is quite the skid for a team that had a fast start. The ugly part is that they sit on the bottom of the AFC West and have a tough schedule ahead with five out of seven games against teams that are over .500. 

This was a huge game for both teams, and the Bengals got the best of them in their own house. The Raiders are officially in the win or go home category in these next few weeks.

Up Next

The Bengals will have a very important game next week against their divisional rival Pittsburgh Steelers in Cincinnati at 1 p.m. on CBS. The Raiders will have a quick turnaround and will play on Thanksgiving Day against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on CBS.

Both teams are still in the hunt for the playoffs with vital games coming up to determine their chances to get into the postseason. Both divisional races are tight and both teams will be looking to.