Bengals notes: Hill not satisfied; Jones takes blame

The Bengals' running game finally found its legs in the first half on Sunday in a 29-17 loss to Denver, especially behind the blocking of H-back Ryan Hewitt, tight end Tyler Kroft and an offensive line that vowed throughout the week to clean up individual responsibilities.

The Bengals ran it 18 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, numbers bolstered by a 50-yard Jeremy Hill run.

“We were physical and we committed to it,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “It was probably the first time we’ve really, this season, had our hands down and just kept pounding away. It was good.”

But by the end of the day, the Bengals gained just 40 more on the ground (on 11 carries), leaving Hill (97 rush yards) feeling less than pleased with his overall effort.

“There’s so much more that we could have out there,” Hill said. “Obviously it wasn’t enough for us to win the game, so definitely we have a ways to go.”

The Bengals used the athleticism of right guard Kevin Zeitler and right tackle Cedric Ogbuehi to pull around the left side to open holes, and the I-formation with Hewitt was utilized more often. Hill said on the successful runs the matchups were well-blocked, but in the end, “I don’t think we executed better,” Hill said.

“I think there’s a lot of runs we wish we could have back. When we go back and look at the film we’re going to be slapping the table and biting our teeth. There’s just a lot of stuff we need to do better as a team, especially to beat football teams like that.”

Instant analysis: Bengals' offense still in search of consistency

Jones excited for return of Burfict

The Bengals' defense will get a physical and emotional lift on Monday with the return of linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who had been suspended for the first three games of the regular season by the NFL.

Corner Adam Jones was asked after the game if he was excited to have the Pro Bowler return to the locker room. Jones yelled:

“Hell yeah! Can’t wait til ‘55’ get here. I don’t give a damn who don’t like it either. Can’t wait for him to get here. I’ll be calling him right now when I get out of here.”

Burfict missed the first part of training camp with a foot injury and ended his time with the team on the rehab field for an undisclosed reason. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis kept him out of all four preseason games.

The Bengals will have to make a corresponding roster move once Burfict is removed from the suspended list and put back on the 53-man roster.

A.J. Green on Denver loss: ‘I didn’t show up’

Jones on fumble: ‘I was down’

Adam Jones rarely fair-catches. He never fumbles. Sunday proved to be a different day altogether for the 2014 All-Pro kick returner as he did both against the Broncos.

Jones’ fumble came at the end of the first quarter with the Bengals leading 7-3. He was hit by Zaire Anderson and former Bengal Shiloh Keo pounced on it.

“I was down,” Jones said. “My knee hit, then he hit me in my ribs. That’s what made me fumble the ball."

The turnover was reviewed and upheld.

“I was really surprised,” Jones said. “We hadn’t got one the whole year. Have y’all realized that yet?”

Back with the ball, Denver scored a touchdown three plays later when Emmanuel Sanders got behind Jones down the sideline.

“I got to worry about the football plays,” Jones said. “I can’t worry about the other stuff. I know if I don’t give up that touchdown it’s a whole different game. Everybody know me, I’m going to take this one on my shoulder. I’ll rally the guys back together and we’ll get ready for Thursday.”

Doc: Siemian rises to occasion vs. Bengals

Bengals in unfamiliar territory

The feel in the locker room postgame was an unusual one for the younger players on the Bengals' roster, as Sunday’s loss dropped them into rather unfamiliar territory.

The Cincinnati Bengals are 1-2 to start the season for the first time since 2011, and the team has dipped below .500 for the first time since 2012 when a loss to the Broncos dropped them to 3-5.

“It’s tough man but this team, we’ve got heart and we know the NFL is going to be a tough grind,” wide receiver A.J. Green said. “But we’ve got to continue to get better.”

Such news has the team already itching for the Thursday night game against Miami.

“It’s good that we can get back in play on Thursday, try to get the feeling out of us,” Green said.

The team rattled off five straight wins after that start in Dalton and Green’s rookie year, and won four straight to climb over .500 in 2012.

“I’m not concerned about that,” Whitworth said about the 1-2 mark. “I’m concerned about we haven’t made enough plays to win these games and that’s going to be so crucial the rest of the season. You can get on stretches where you miss here and miss there and you lose games, so it’s going to be important for us to work our butts off this week to get to 2-2 and find a way to convert the little plays here or there that are losing us the games.”