Anytime you try to run right up the middle against the Titans, the odds are very good that your backs are going to hit defensive linemen Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry like a Yugo crashing into a brick wall, and your offense will go nowhere. If the Bengals were to break the logjam they had with the Titans in the third quarter of their divisional round game, something else was going to have to happen.
The answer? Give the ball to running back Joe Mixon, and flip the script with wide zone runs. The Bengals did this with great success on Mixon’s 16-yard touchdown run with 9:34 left in the third quarter, giving the Bengals a 16-6 lead.
Mixon’s cutback was impressive enough, but the way he was able to track the gaps to the backside of the run really made this special. And then, he just turned on the jets, embarrassing several Tennessee defenders.
This view of @Joe_MainMixon's TD run. 🔥
📺: #CINvsTEN on CBS
📱: NFL app pic.twitter.com/vZEkVEU4rf— NFL (@NFL) January 22, 2022
Bengals went to wide zone a bunch on that TD drive. I want to say 5 times? pic.twitter.com/tUUfvEcL4j
— SyedSchemes (@syedschemes) January 22, 2022
This should come as no surprise. Coming into this game, per Sports Info Solutions, Mixon led the NFL in zone runs charted as off tackle or outside with 136, for a league-high 656 yards, and a league-high 447 yards after contact. Mixon had just three touchdowns on such plays (Jonathan Taylor of the Colts led the league in wide zone touchdowns with seven), but the Bengals picked the perfect time to give their premier back another shot at the end zone.