The Cincinnati Bengals have enjoyed better defensive performances over the team’s three-game winning streak.
Many factors go into the sudden revival of what was one of the NFL’s worst-performing units.
Veteran cornerback Mike Hilton might have revealed what sits at the very top of the list.
“Lou has definitely eased things down so that we’re not thinking too much,” Hilton said, according to CLNS Media’s Mike Petraglia. “And then guys are out there actually knowing what they have to do, knowing where they have to be. It puts us in a position to make plays.
Fans will likely bemoan Anarumo waiting to simplify his defense until December, of course.
But other things go into this, too. For one, he didn’t have much of a choice if the complexity was what kept younger players like Jordan Battle and Myles Murphy off the field. Injuries forced the team’s hand there.
While it’s not a positive spin, the Bengals have enjoyed playing some terrible quarterbacks over the three-win streak, too. Dallas had to trot out Cooper Rush, not Dak Prescott, while Tennessee rotated Will Levis and Mason Rudolph and Cleveland started Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
The reason for success, clearly, is a combination of things. All that matters is that it happened and the team still retains slight playoff hopes.
Zooming out, fans just have to hope the Bengals take the right lessons from the resurgence into the offseason, too — meaning critical on-field upgrades and coaching staff changes.
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