Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) running back Joe Mixon made up for his slow start to the season with arguably the best performance by a single player at this point in the season.
Fantasy owners loved seeing Mixon total five touchdowns with over 200 yards from scrimmage, as he led the Bengals to a 42-21 win over the Carolina Panthers (2-7).
Four of Mixon’s touchdowns came in the first half, as quarterback Joe Burrow loved handing it off or throwing to his running back. The first touchdown was a simple two-yard rush to the left side to go up early.
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Then, after Burrow snuck his way in to make it 14-0, it was The Mixon Show from then on out. Three touchdowns came for Mixon in the second quarter, including a 12-yard pass with a scrambling Burrow finding him with just a few seconds left in the first half.
Mixon finished the game with 153 yards on 22 carries, while hauling in four receptions for 58 yards. He is the sixth player in the Super Bowl era with at least 200 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns in a single game.
Burrow was much better than he was last Monday when he had no time to work against the Cleveland Browns. He went 22-for-28 with 206 yards and the lone passing touchdown to Mixon. His favorite target was wide receiver Tee Higgins, who had 60 yards on seven catches (eight targets).
BENGALS' JOE MIXON SCORES 4 TOUCHDOWNS VS. PANTHERS IN FIRST HALF, TEAM TOPS 300 TOTAL YARDS
On the Panthers’ side, quarterback P.J. Walker had been solid heading into this contest, but the Bengals didn’t give him anything to work with. He threw two interceptions and only had nine yards passing on 3-of-10 through the air.
At the second half, he was benched for Baker Mayfield, who had suffered the same fate earlier in the season that led to Walker getting play. Mayfield had some better effort than his teammate, throwing two touchdowns and 155 yards on 14-for-20 in the second half.
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One of the scores went to Terrace Marshall Jr., who finished with 53 yards to lead the Panthers in receiving. The other was to tight end Tommy Tremble, while Raheem Blackshear rushed in a score as well.
But it was too big a deficit to come back from after Mixon and the Bengals put up 35 first-half points.
Keeping the pressure on the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals are on a bye next week before they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 20.
The Panthers will have short week to re-evaluate the quarterback position again, as they face the Atlanta Falcons, an NFC South foe, on Thursday night.
