Week 7 “We’re starting to earn respect, but we still have a long way to go” -Taylor
Your Cincinnati Bengals currently sit atop of the AFC North and the AFC as a conference. The Bengals went into Baltimore with everything to prove and nothing to lose. The narrative going into this game was how great Lamar Jackson is and how he rivals the great Patrick Mahomes. Well the media and the rest of the NFL got a wake up call that the Bengals are not just good but great. The amount of Joe Burrow articles, shout outs, and overall chatter online is satisfying yet frustrating at the same time. This post could be all about Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati offense. Burrow had a career game, throwing for over 400 yards and 3 TD. While his LSU teammate had 8 catches for 201 yards and a TD. The offense was truly what we have all been waiting for, showing up with an impressive 520 yards of total offense. With all that being said the star of the show was the Cincinnati Defense, and the real reason this team is sitting atop of the AFC.
The Cincinnati defense plays a faceless brand of football. To the outside fan I think people would struggle to name 3 defenders that start on this team. I bet most Cincinnati fans would struggle to name 5 players. I think that is fine with this defense, I believe that they want you to underestimate them. This whole defense is built upon guys who collectively want to be a great team not just a great player. Let’s look at two guys the Bengals let walk this offseason and compare them to their replacements. The Bengals let Carl Lawson go this offseason and there were a lot of fans who complained about this. He was the team leader in sacks last year to their defense, but he only had 5.5 sacks last season and 20 in four seasons. The sack total isn’t the issue with this, Lawson was notorious for being out of position and would open massive rushing lanes. That is the exact opposite style of play that the Bengals currently have with their starting Defensive ends. Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard have the ability to play edge contain and it's a main reason Lamar Jackson struggled yesterday. What is even better is these two work in tandem and it shows up in the box score; through 7 games Hendrickson has 6.5 sacks and Hubbard has 4. Hendrickson is on pace for 15 ½ sacks and Hubbard is on pace for 9 ½ at the end of the season. The team is on pace for 46 sacks this season, in 2020 the Bengals only had 17, that is not a typo. Hendrickson is only one of the many signings this offseason, the next guy in, Chidobe Awuzie, might be even more important.
The Bengals also parted ways with William Jackson III this past offseason. Jackson was considered the Bengals top corner and at the top of the free agent list this offseason. The Washington Redskins ended up signing him for 3 years 42 million dollars. Which might be the worst signing this offseason. Pro Football Focus currently has a grade of 46.8 out of 100 on Jackson, and he ranks 111th out of 117th of qualifying players at his position. Let’s compare that to the Bengals replacement in Chidobe Awuzie - I’m going to refer to him by his nickname ‘Cheeto’. Awuzie signed a 3 year 22 million contract with the Bengals and Pro Football Focus currently has awarded him a grade of 81.5. He also ranks 3rd out of 117th for his position. All of these numbers are great and they are easy to see the difference in play. But for someone who watches every Bengals snap the difference is the mentality. Awuzie is always guarding the top receiver and rarely misses a tackle. People are currently saying Jessie Bates is the most important player to this defense but I think you should really start watching Cheeto and appreciate how imperative his performance has been for the Bengal’s success this season. He was slated to be the Bengals second corner and has stepped up as the top guy and held it down. I firmly believe Cheeto is one of the main reasons this team is winning games and has higher aspirations.
Something big is happening in Cincinnati. The Bengals are currently 1 of 5 teams that are top 10 in offense and defense. Those teams are the Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, and your Cincinnati Bengals. The only thing different about those other four teams is people believe they have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. So why can’t the Bengals. They currently sit at 5-2 and have two games left before the bye. Realistically the Bengals could enter the halfway mark at 7-2. This team can win 13 games this season, you may think that’s an over reaction but let's see how the season unfolds.
