Tag: Andrei Iosivas

Ravens vs. Bengals: Top photos from Baltimore’s 41-38 win in overtime at Paycor Stadium

We’re looking at the top photos from the Baltimore Ravens 41-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime at Paycor Stadium in Week 5

Lamar Jackson and company rallied from a late fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime with a 56-yard field goal from Justin Tucker. In overtime, the Bengals recovered a Jackson fumble but could not win it after Evan McPherson missed a 56-yard field goal of his win.

At one point in the fourth quarter, Joe Burrow was 27-for-34 for 353 yards and five touchdown passes, while former college teammate Ja’Marr Chase had nine catches for 174 yards and two scores.

Burrow finished 30-39 passing for 392 yards, five touchdowns, and one costly interception. His MVP counterpart, Lamar Jackson, was 26-42 passing for 348 yards and four touchdowns. Jackson also had 12 carries for 56 yards on the day.

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Joe Burrow dominates early, but Ravens rally for a 41-38 win over Bengals in overtime

Joe Burrow dominates early, but Ravens rally for a 41-38 win over Bengals in overtime

After a week of pundits and experts questioning Joe Burrow’s demise, the former LSU star put the NFL back on notice with a dominant, five-touchdown performance against the Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium.

Still, it wasn’t enough, as Lamar Jackson and company rallied from a late fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime with a 56-yard field goal from Justin Tucker. In overtime, the Bengals recovered a Lamar Jackosn fumble but were unable to win it after Evan McPherson missed a 56-yard field goal of his win.

Baltimore used a big Derrick Henry run to get into field goal position, and Justin Tucker’s 24 field goals gave the Ravens their third straight win.

At one point in the fourth quarter, Burrow was 27-for-34 for 353 yards and five touchdown passes, while former college teammate Ja’Marr Chase had nine catches for 174 yards and two scores against a Ravens secondary full of first-round picks and high-paid defenders.

Burrow finished 30-39 passing for 392 yards, five touchdowns, and one costly interception. His MVP counterpart, Lamar Jackson, was 26-42 passing for 348 yards and four touchdowns. Jackson also had 12 carries for 56 yards on the day.

After a slow start, Derrick Henry finished things with a bang, rushing for 91 yards on 15 carries, with one rushing touchdown.

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NFL already took back that unexpected fine for Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas

The NFL admits it got it wrong with Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas.

So much for that NFL fine issued to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas.

The league hit Iosivas with a $5,305 fine for pretending to shoot a bow and arrow after a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.

But this week, Iosivas revealed that he and his agents won the appeal.

“My agents and I have trailblazed a new path for the NFL,” Iosivas said, according to Sports Illustrated’s Jay Morrison. “I think they came out with something today saying the bow and arrow celebration would not be banned and that it’s not a violent gesture.”

One could argue the league has been very hit-and-miss with the enforcement of celebrations that could be considered violent gestures.

It’s especially good news for Iosivas, whose rookie deal pays him just a hair under the $4 million mark over four seasons.

Though with the way he’s going — Iosivas is in the middle of that predicted breakout by catching three of Joe Burrow’s seven touchdown passes so far — he’ll be more in that massive Ja’Marr Chase fine shrugging status soon enough.

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Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas reacts after unexpected fine from NFL

An unexpected fine letter left the Bengals WR speechless.

Everyone knew the big fine was coming for Ja’Marr Chase.

But Chase apparently wasn’t the only Cincinnati Bengals wideout fined for his actions coming out of the team’s Week 2 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

It turns out that Andrei Iosivas also received a fine letter from the NFL. And while the actual dollar amount was far, far lower than the one Chase suffered, it was completely unexpected.

Due to a bow and arrow celebration after scoring one of his two touchdowns, Iosivas received a fine letter this week and reacted on social media once the news went public via reporters:

The NFL has circled any weaponry-styled celebration as an issue in recent years.

Even so, Iosivas’ reaction feels about right.

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Bengals’ fast-rising wideout hyped as breakout candidate by NFL analyst

NFL fans — not just Bengals fans — will want to know this name before long.

The Cincinnati Bengals figure to use a committee to help replace the production left by Tyler Boyd’s departure in free agency.

But Andrei Iosivas is by far the biggest part of that approach.

Iosivas quickly distanced himself from the other options in training camp this year, has the stamp of approval from quarterback Joe Burrow and has shown he can play inside or out.

That rise has been enough to make him one of a handful of players tagged by Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski as backups about to break out across the league:

Last year, Andrei Iosivas was a developmental sixth-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals. Fast forward to 2024 and Iosivas could be a big part of the Bengals’ feared passing attack.

Names like Charlie Jones and potentially even Burton will help replace some of those snaps, though in Burton’s case, things have been a little weird lately.

New tight end Mike Gesicki is a force from the slot too, so he’ll get some work there.

But Iosivas indeed has the best chance to be a breakout performer, especially while defenses worry about Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

It almost sounds a little too good to be true, given that Iosivas was a late-round pick and something of a project. But he’s in the perfect offense to really break out and the fact he’s already doing so in camp speaks to the hard work he’s put in to get to this point.

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Bengals training camp’s breakout player is running Ja’Marr Chase’s routes

Some of Ja’Marr Chase’s routes have gone to this breakout player at Bengals training camp.

Cincinnati Bengals wideout Andrei Iosivas is the breakout player of training camp so far.

So much so, he isn’t just getting big public praise from Joe Burrow — he’s even starting to take Ja’Marr Chase routes in practice.

With Chase watching from the sidelines during his “hold-in” over what appears to be a contract extension, Iosivas spent some of the late part of the week running routes that would normally go to the offense’s top target.

Specifically, Iosivas caught a touchdown on a third-and-one from Burrow with the first team on a route that usually belongs to Chase.

“When we install routes and concepts, we install how it is on paper then we look at how it’s actually run in the game,” Iosivas said, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “I’ve had a little mental area of how Ja’Marr ran it and how he scored, so I pretty much tried to do the same thing and it worked.”

And here’s Burrow, via Dehner: “Andrei’s gonna have a year. I’m really excited about how he’s coming along. Wherever he ends up playing, whether it’s inside or outside, he’s able to do it all.”

None of this means anything about Chase’s holdout — the routes have to go to someone while he’s out, right?

But that some of the reps have gone to Iosivas says it all about his training camp so far. He’s been playing in the slot and boundary as he gears up to likely be the main presence as the third wideout in trio looks and the main guy off the bench if Chase or Higgins can’t go.

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Andrei Iosivas and Chase Brown trained together to great results

Some huge hype for Bengals sophomores.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a pair of breakout candidates with Andrei Iosivas and Chase Brown.

Iosivas, the sixth-round wideout from last year, didn’t get many chances due to a stacked depth chart, yet looked the part when asked. And Brown, a fifth-round rookie last year, was due more playing time before an ill-timed injury, yet looked explosive upon his return.

It turns out both guys got together this offseason and trained after head coach Zac Taylor made a common comment to both in post-season meetings — the team would like to see them improve as pass-catchers.

And it sure sounds like they did.

“I would say Andrei and Chase made the fastest improvement of any players I’ve ever had in the program of 15 years doing this, this is year seven at the NFL level,” receiver coach Drew Lieberman said, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “I’ve never had two players improve faster.”

Per Dehner, Brown’s main focus was all about actual receiving technique so that he can have more confidence and consistency as a weapon out of the backfield. With Iosivas, it was a combination of attacking the ball and refinements to certain routes.

In the short term, Brown figures to have a bigger impact in the base offense as he pairs with Zack Moss out of the backfield. But Iosivas is one injury away from being a starter too, plus he’s been circled as a possible Tee Higgins replacement as early as 2025, too.

Given the assembled quotes over the spring about how impressed Joe Burrow and others are with the two weapons, it’s clear both guys are on the right track heading into their second seasons.

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Andrei Iosivas reveals big plans while talking Tee Higgins

Andrei Iosivas with some head-turning comments.

Cincinnati Bengals second-year wideout Andrei Iosivas has big hopes for the future.

The sophomore made that clear in a recent post on social media, but he really drove the point home in recent interviews.

Iosivas brought up the realities of the Tee Higgins situation while discussing his fit in the wideout room.

“I’m hoping I can get the confidence from the coaches,” Iosivas said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby. “I’m not sure if they can pay Tee. He’ll probably get a lot of money. He’s a really good receiver. Hopefully I can step into that role.”

It’s the type of statement that the Bengals as an organization probably smacks its forehead over a little bit, sure.

But it’s also true.

The Bengals and Higgins are in a standoff over the franchise tag that is nearly identical to the previous Jessie Bates situation and the two sides have until July 15 to reach an extension.

If not, that moves the needle toward Higgins playing the year on that tag and then possibly leaving next summer, with Iosivas being one of the top choices to replace his fit in the base offense.

This much was obvious when the Bengals drafted Iosivas last year, though it’s pretty refreshing to hear a player talk so candidly about it.

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Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas throws out a reminder ahead of Year 2

Andrei Iosivas is earning some hype at Bengals practices.

With so much hype around incoming rookie Jermaine Burton, it’s a little easy to forget about Cincinnati Bengals sophomore wideouts.

Charlie Jones, for example, flashed as a returner and has the upside of playing a role in the base offense.

And then there’s Andrei Iosivas.

When the Bengals drafted Iosivas, it was easy to see that he hit the profile of a possible long-term Tee Higgins replacement.

Iosivas himself recently took the time to drop a comment on social media over one of his recent highlights, too.

It’s a small-yet-important reminder that the Bengals drafted to players last year who can contribute. And if the second-year leap is there, combined with some possible injuries over the course of a 17-game season, Iosivas could certainly have an impact.

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Bengals tout Andrei Iosivas as example of Senior Bowl’s importance

The Senior Bowl is underway, with the Bengals pointing at Andrei Iosivas’ rookie season.

The Cincinnati Bengals head to the Senior Bowl this week hoping to unearth more talent capable of helping the team right away.

And one only has to look to the immediate past to find out just how important that draft pitstop can be.

Around the Bengals, Andrei Iosivas is the name constantly cited as why this week is so important for their draft process. Just take the word of Bengals’ East Coast scout Andrew Johnson.

“Andrei was the perfect Senior Bowl player,” Johnson said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “That’s what this game really shows you. Can those guys who didn’t play against great competition hold up every day down here?”

Iosivas, a sixth-round pick in 2023, stuck out to the Bengals at the Senior Bowl because of the way he matched up against the competition. That was a huge ordeal for scouts to see him hold his own against SEC players at what is essentially an All-Star game after spending his college days at the smaller Princeton.

So while this feels like an exaggeration for an early-February draft event, this week’s Senior Bowl is a critical stop for a Bengals team that has worked with Iosivas and others like Cam Taylor-Britt in recent years.

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