It's easy to get caught up on Andy Dalton's early and ugly pick six, but the Bengals gave their fans an ounce of hope on offense in Thursday's 30-27 win over the Bears.
That proved true against Chicago, with Mixon unfurling one of the more athletic plays you'll see all month when he pulled in a Dalton pass at the Bears' 20-yard line. From there he darted to the 10 and was nearly tripped up by a defender, only to spin 'round like a globe, keep his balance and waltz to pay dirt.
"The way we came out today, it was good," Mixon said, per The Cincinnati Enquirer. "It was firing out and the first two quarters, it was like, man, we rollin'."
The following possession brought Kyle Fuller's 47-yard interception return of Dalton, partly the result of Ross slipping to the ground. The ultra-quick wideout, though, later helped the team with a 20-yard grab from the veteran passer on a drive that saw Dalton (6 of 8 for 103 yards, with two scores over three drives) spray the ball to and fro en route to his second touchdown pass of the night, this time to Tyler Boyd.
"We are figuring things out," Ross said. "And it's just the beginning right now. What kind of page we want to be on, everybody was understanding what's going on. That's the deal for us, we got a lot of guys that can play."
It's just one quarter in August, but Thursday was a glimpse at what this offense can be with its young, recent draft picks playing alongside veteran wideout A.J. Green and behind an improved offensive line.
In general, there's reason to believe the entirety of the AFC North -- especially Cincy, Baltimore and Cleveland -- will improve on offense, making this a division to watch from wire-to-wire come September.