CINCINNATI -- A few thoughts on the Cincinnati Bengals' 37-37 overtime tie Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at Paul Brown Stadium:
What it means: Sunday afternoon's tie primarily means that the Bengals are pretty good at home. That's not a surprise. After all, they haven't lost in a franchise-record 12 consecutive regular-season games inside the place they fondly refer to as "The Jungle." It also means they may be in the market for a new kicker, after Mike Nugent missed a 36-yard field goal attempt right as time expired in overtime. The Bengals nearly outlasted a Panthers team that outplayed them for much of the day. Because the Panthers did play well, it's hard to say that this tie showed exactly who the Bengals are. They committed two turnovers on offense and had trouble closing out defensively on third down. Carolina was 8-for-17 on third down. Overall, Cincinnati didn't look as clean as it did during the first three games of the year. After the Bengals' 3-0 start, they were blown out at New England last week and looked flat in this game for the most part, except for a couple of late flashes thanks to Adam Jones, among others.
Discipline issues: The Bengals entered this week's game having averaged 6.5 penalties in their four previous contests. Against the Panthers, they were plagued by a rash of infractions. In all, the Bengals had 13 penalties for 119 yards. Of particular note, they had penalties that immediately preceded three of the Panthers' scoring drives. Two of the most problematic offensive penalties Cincinnati had came on its last offensive drive of the fourth quarter, when offensive tackle Andre Smith was flagged for holding and a false start on back-to-back plays. The holding penalty negated a 22-yard touchdown run by rookie running back Jeremy Hill.
Gresham goes off: Last week, Jermaine Gresham lived up to his self-prescribed title as the villain on the Bengals' roster. He had one drop in the end zone and awkwardly paused at the end of another route, forcing him to leap for what should have been an easy catch in a short-yardage situation. Both miscues had many outside the locker room questioning his reliability. To their credit, the Bengals claimed they were still behind him. Against the Panthers, they proved that. Gresham, as sure-handed as ever, caught all of his six targets for 68 yards. It was the first time since last December that he had been targeted at least five times and caught every one of those passes. He also had two penalties, but Gresham gave the offense a bigger assist moving the ball than he had at any other point this season.
Game ball: Mohamed Sanu easily could have received the Bengals' game ball for the way he performed in the fourth quarter and overtime, but this game ball will go instead to running back Giovani Bernard, who rushed 18 times for 137 yards and a touchdown. It was the first time he crossed the 100-yard rushing plateau in his career. It also was the first time the Bengals had a ball carrier go over 100 yards since Dec. 13, 2012, when BenJarvus Green-Ellis collected 106 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles.
What's next? The Bengals (3-1-1) make the trek up Interstate 74 to Indianapolis next Sunday. There, they will face the Indianapolis Colts for a second consecutive year after rolling to a 42-28 win in Cincinnati last December. The Bengals also won the teams' preseason meeting at Paul Brown Stadium in August. Indianapolis leads the all-time regular-season series 16-10.
