Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green not happy with offense

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

A good rule of thumb when things aren’t going well offensively is to get the ball to your best player.

That philosophy produced the longest play of the night for the Bengals when quarterback Andy Dalton heaved a deep, arching ball into triple coverage in the first quarter, and wide receiver A.J. Green went up and got it for a 50-yard reception.

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But the Bengals inexplicably ignored Green in a second half that saw him catch two passes for 3 yards in a 13-9 loss to Houston, even with bothTexans starting cornerbacks knocked out of the game with injuries.

And it was clear after the game Green wasn’t happy about it.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) is tackled by Houston Texans cornerback Kevin Johnson (30) in the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Frank Victores)

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“We have to find a way to get our playmakers the ball,” Green said. “Whatever that is, play calling, whatever it is, we’ve got to do that. This is a superstar driven league.

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“We can live with Andy missing a throw here or there,” Green added. “We can live with that, but when it’s crunch time, we’ve got find a way to get our playmakers the ball. I put in a lot of work and not getting the ball like that it’s tough.”

And hard to explain, although Dalton tried.

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“You want to get him involved as much as possible, but teams try to take him away,” Dalton said. “Obviously you want the ball in his hands as much as possible. You’ve got your best player out there, you want him to be a focal point. We’re going to have to look at it and see what we can do differently.”

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