Sunday Once Again Illuminated A Top Bengals’ Offseason Priority
Credit: Phil Didion
Yesterday, I went to my first Cincinnati Bengals game in my designated season-ticket seat since I had back surgery in August. For three hours, I felt the joy, exuberance, and WhoDeyification (that is a word and I will not be told otherwise) that I dearly missed since the 2023 season. Despite occasional flare-ups of back stiffness, I felt energized and had a wonderful afternoon.
Speaking of energized: Check out the Bengals’ defensive line.
Horrible decision-making by Dorian Thompson-Robinson, yes off his back foot…. But the throw was to two different Bengals defenders pic.twitter.com/p7Ot7ziTDP
— Last Take™ (@TheRealLastTake) December 22, 2024
Cincy made the most of the Cleveland Browns’ poor offensive line and brought heavy pressure on the inexperienced Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who led an offense that committed two turnovers inside the Bengals’ 10-yard line. The Bengals tied a season-high with five sacks on Thompson-Robinson in addition to 25 pressures and 17 hurries. Perhaps the most encouraging part: pressuring the quarterback was not just The Trey Hendrickson Show Starring Trey Hendrickson.
Kris Jenkins 2 (!!) sacks today.
If he develops into an above-average pass rusher, the Bengals have themselves a very good starting DT.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) December 22, 2024
Kris Jenkins, the Bengals’ rookie defensive tackle, had the first multi-sack game of his career, and McKinnley Jackson, Joseph Ossai (who needed to take advantage of his opportunity), and yes, Hendrickson, logged a sack each. That’s not to say the Bengals’ pass rush is a completed project. But rather, this week is a building block for the Bengals to take the next step this offseason.
Notes:
Myles Murphy is having a nice late season push. Play him more.
The rookie DTs starting to win a little bit more while Hill is dropping. Still a massive need here for a pass rusher.
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) December 23, 2024
Sunday showed the ripple effects that heavy pressure on the quarterback has for the rest of the defense. Of course, that performance can be taken with a grain of salt, considering the Browns have returned to the “Same Old Browns” form and DTR is still an inexperienced quarterback. However, it showed that giving the quarterback less relaxation time in the pocket almost always leads to poor decisions and big plays on defense.
“As [a] quarterback, when you see [disruption], you start to play the game a little differently,” Joe Burrow said in his postgame press conference. “You’re not going to quite extend as much. Maybe you take a sack, where in a different spot, you try to extend or try to get the ball to somebody. And you feel confident trying to protect the ball in those situations when your defense is playing like that.”
“We’ll take the [defensive] help from everywhere, and we’re getting it from everywhere,” Zac Taylor added. “It’s great to see. I saw Trey and Ossai in the backfield all day. Whether they were getting the sacks or not, they were certainly disruptive and forcing some tough plays.”
Even with the strong performance on Sunday, the Bengals still have just 30 sacks on the season, which is well below the league average. Their overall pass rush grade in 2024 per PFF is 63.8, which ranks seventh-worst in the NFL. As of two and a half weeks ago, the Bengals’ best pass rusher, Hendrickson, is on the wrong side of 30. In addition, most of their flashes of competence have come against poor teams. Of their 30 sacks, 14 of them were in their two games against the Browns (nine combined) and the Las Vegas Raiders (five sacks).
Poor defensive play has been the team’s undoing in 2024, and it all begins with the struggling pass rush. When a defensive line is getting sacks, hitting the quarterback, and forcing the ball out early, that patches up so many holes. And defensive holes will be inevitable in a team that’s invested so much in their offense.
But even with the bumps in pay for Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and (potentially) Tee Higgins, the Bengals have a major opportunity to improve their defense. Cincinnati is projected to have a hair under $60 million in cap space to work with next offseason, which will be 13th in the league. Potential cut candidates to free up some cap space include Sam Hubbard after his tough season and Alex Cappa, among others. Those corresponding moves could put the Bengals in the market for free-agent pass rushers such as Haason Reddick and Dre Greenlaw, among others. The first round of the upcoming NFL Draft also has potential edge rushing candidates such as Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton and Georgia’s Mykel Williams, in addition to linebacker Jalon Walker.
It has been shown time and time again that football games are won and lost in the trenches. Last offseason, the Bengals addressed their run defense with the draft selections of interior linemen Jenkins and Jackson, who both gave them a boost. This upcoming offseason, the pass rush has to be the first priority, and film from Sunday’s win over the Browns showed the impact that heaping intense pressure on the quarterback can have on the defense as a whole.
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