Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green has been one of the league’s elite wide receivers since the proverbial “Day 1,” and he once again tortured the Baltimore Ravens pass defense.
It’s hard not to wonder where the Cincinnati Bengals offense and quarterback Andy Dalton would be without star wide receiver A.J. Green. The man is just about impossible to cover, as he burns defenses deep with regularity and is a menace to defend when the ball is in the air.
Once again, Green proved to be too deadly for the Baltimore Ravens defense to cover, racking up touchdown after touchdown for grateful fantasy football owners.
The Bengals took on the Ravens on Thursday Night Football, and the Bengals were dealing early in the second quarter with a commanding 21-0 lead. After beating up on the hapless Buffalo Bills, who were quarterbacked by Nathan Peterman in Week 1, the Ravens got a bitter dose of reality against Green and the Bengals.
All three of those touchdowns came courtesy of Green’s hands, as he needed just three catches on five targets to convert three scores for the Bengals offense. Those three touchdown receptions went for 43 yards, and it seemed like Green was just getting started against a Ravens defense fighting for answers.
His first and third touchdowns came in the end zone, with the third TD being a clutch reception on third-and-goal. The Ravens were simply helpless against Green when he was in scoring distance, and his nose for the end zone will be critical for Cincinnati this year.
Green had a solid 2017 campaign with over 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth time in seven seasons. However, he hasn’t caught 10 touchdown passes in a campaign since lighting up the scoreboard with exactly 10 touchdowns in the 2015 season. With four touchdown receptions through one-and-a-half games, Green is well on his way to being one of the league leaders in 2018.
Oh, and in case the three touchdowns didn’t sell you on his greatness, just check out this lovely lay-up into the crowd (above)…The broken tackle and catch-and-run on this 32-yard touchdown were great, sure, but that lay-up was the icing on the cake.
This performance against Baltimore is a reminder that Green just might be the most underrated receiver in the NFL. To be fair, he probably isn’t, since most people understand that he’s an elite receiver. But at the same time, so much hype is (understandably) sent towards the likes of Julio Jones, Odell Beckham Jr., and the ungodly Antonio Brown that Green can occasionally get lost in the shuffle.
In Week 2 against the Ravens in primetime, however, Green was the spotlight. And with over 20 fantasy points in the first half alone, Dalton and the Bengals offense weren’t the only people who benefited greatly from Green’s outburst of offensive production.
The Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, and all of Green’s future opponents in 2018 have certainly been put on notice after this jaw-dropping display of touchdown-scoring madness. And if John Ross can break out next to him, the Bengals will be that much scarier for defenses to deal with.