Category: Bengals

Don’t forget about the Cincinnati Bengals

In a crowded AFC full of exciting teams, don’t forget about the Cincinnati Bengals

Toy Story is a phenomenal movie.

A cowboy doll and all his friends whom their owner, a young boy, loves to play with. All is well until a new toy shows up, and all of a sudden poor Woody doesn’t get the attention he once got.

That’s the Cincinnati Bengals.

Just two years ago, Joe Burrow was the talk of the NFL, the Bengals became the darlings of the league, and they were minutes away from winning the Super Bowl. Fast forward to 2024 coming off a year in which Burrow dealt with injuries throughout the first half of the season before coming off the bye looking refreshed and leading the Bengals to huge wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills. Even in their loss to the Houston Texans, Burrow threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bengals would have won if not for a dropped pass by Tyler Boyd in the end zone.

Regardless, the Bengals looked to be back in the saddle again heading into a Thursday night matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. Burrow threw a four yard touchdown pass to Joe Mixon to put the Bengals up 10-7, but hit his hand on the helmet of a Ravens defender in the process. He was in clear pain on the sideline, unable to grip and throw the ball, and it was later revealed he had a torn ligament in his wrist. Just like that, Burrow’s season, and really the Bengals’ season, was over.

Now, in April of 2024, the Bengals are in a place they haven’t been in quite sometime- under the radar. Of course everyone will be talking about the back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, but who is garnering the rest of the attention? The Baltimore Ravens, who came up short in what could potentially be their best chance at a Super Bowl with Lamar Jackson.

[lawrence-related id=212328]

If the discussion isn’t about the Ravens, it’s about the Houston Texans, the new girl next door of the NFL neighborhood who just traded for Stefon Diggs and have a young superstar at quarterback. The same 49ers team that the Bengals beat handedly lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Hell, even a Steelers team that is great defensively but only upgraded from Kenny Pickett to Russell Wilson/Justin Fields are getting much more coverage and discussion than the Bengals.

And honestly, maybe that’s how Cincinnati wants it. Because when healthy, they are still one of the best teams in the NFL. Not to mention, one would think they know that this may be their best shot yet to win a championship. This is Tee Higgins’ swan song as a Bengal. Having a special duo made up of he and Ja’Marr Chase isn’t easy to come by. They also added Mike Gesicki as a vertical threat tight end and Zach Moss to compliment Chase Brown in the backfield. Defensively, they stole safety Geno Stone from the Ravens and added Sheldon Rankins in the middle of their defensive line.

With a healthy Burrow, this is a team that had a top five offense in the NFL in 2022 in terms of EPA, success rate, and just about every other measurable metric. This is a team led by a quarterback that is 3-1 against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. The same team that very nearly defeated them in consecutive AFC Championship Games. So while the Texans and Bills of the world are absolutely going to be in the mix and it won’t shock anyone if they make it out of the AFC, don’t forget about the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bengals bolster iffy safety group with underrated star Geno Stone

The Bengals added to their iffy safety group with a proven veteran in Geno Stone, and they did it at quite a bargain.

Last season, without veteran safeties Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates III, the Cincinnati Bengals struggled a bit at the position with Dax Hill, Nick Scott, and Jordan Battle. Now, the team — and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo — have done something major to shore that up. Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Bengals have agreed to terms with former Baltimore Ravens safety Geno Stone on a two-year, $15 million deal with a $6 million signing bonus.

That’s a sweet deal for a player that led all safeties last season with seven interceptions, but Stone is about more than just picks — he was one of the stingiest deep-third defenders in the league, and he allowed 27 catches on 41 targets for 193 yards, 136 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, those seven interceptions, eight pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 53.3.

Stone should have had a more robust market in this free agent class, but it’s certainly to the Bengals’ advantage.

2024 NFL Mock Draft: End-of-season quarterback decisions lead to surprising picks

How many NFL teams will stick with their current quarterbacks? A high number could make for an interesting first round of the 2024 draft.

Now that the 2023 NFL regular season is over, every team turns its attention to the draft — even those teams that are part of the postseason. Area scouts will start to move to the home facility to interact with scouting directors and general managers, and with the scouting combine less than two months away, it’s time to start putting your big boards together.

This applies especially to those teams with crucial quarterback decisions to make. For the purposes of this mock draft, we’ll assume that the Chicago Bears are sticking with Justin Fields, the Arizona Cardinals are committed to Kyler Murray, the Tennessee Titans think they have a future franchise quarterback in Will Levis, and the New York Jets think that eventually, Aaron Rodgers will stop shooting his mouth off long enough to play quarterback in 2024.

Conversely, the Washington Commanders, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Atlanta Falcons will avail themselves of the best draftable quarterbacks possible in the interest of turning things around.

So, four quarterbacks go in the first round here, with more teams looking to build around the guys they’ve already got. That makes for one notable omission (Oregon’s Bo Nix), and a whole bunch of talented prospects at other positions pushing themselves up the boards.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 18’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys preview the final week of the regular season with tape and metrics.

It’s time for Week 18 of the 2023 NFL campaign — the final week of the regular season — and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games, playoff scenarios, and interesting matchups:

Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Chargers — Why the Chiefs wouldn’t even be a playoff team without Steve Spagnuolo, and how Kansas City’s defense got four sacks in five plays against the Bengals on Cincinnati’s final drive.

Philadelphia Eagles-New York Giants — The Eagles had best fix their leaky run defense before the playoffs, and the Giants could be a stern test in that regard.

Houston Texans- Indianapolis Colts — C.J. Stroud is back for the Texans, and he’ll face a Colts defense with a lot of underrated players. The winner takes the AFC South.

Los Angeles Rams-San Francisco 49ers — The 49ers have wrapped up the NFC’s one-seed, so they won’t play many of their starters, but it’s time to recognize a Rams defense defined by two rookies, and more underrated players.

Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins — Two up-and-down teams are fighting for control of the AFC East, and it could come down to which unit figures itself out: Buffalo’s offense, or Miami’s defense.

Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers — The Bears won’t make the playoffs, but they have a fascinating decision to make about Justin Fields’ future. Meanwhile, Packers quarterback Jordan Love has been as good as anyone at his position in the second half of the season.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

4-Down Territory: Lamar MVP, Brad Allen needs to go, Eagles or Chiefs, Worst of the Week

In this week’s “4-Down Territory,” Doug Farrar and Kyle Madson discuss Lamar Jackson, Brad Allen, Eagles or Chiefs, and the Worst of the Week.

With 17 weeks of actual football in the books for the 2023 NFL season, it’s time once again for Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire, and Kyle Madson of Niners Wire, to come to the table with their own unique brand of analysis in “4-Down Territory.”

This week, the guys have some serious questions to answer:

  1. Can anybody but Lamar Jackson be the NFL Most Valuable Player right now?
  2. It is time for the NFL to fire referee Brad Allen and his entire crew?
  3. If you had to take one of last year’s two Super Bowl teams — the Chiefs or the Eagles — which one would you be stuck with?
  4. And what was your Worst of the Week (non-officiating version)?

You can watch this week’s “4-Down Territory” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “4-Down Territory” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Four sacks in 50 seconds: How Steve Spagnuolo has saved the Chiefs’ season

The 2023 Chiefs will go exactly as far as their defense will take them. The good news is that Steve Spagnuolo is dialing up some evil stuff.

We all know that the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense, for whatever reason, is an unmitigated disaster at this point. Yes, Patrick Mahomes is still capable of making amazing plays from time to time, but the structure of the passing game has fallen apart, Mahomes is leaving too many throws on the field, and the chemistry is certainly a problem.

In the Chiefs’ 25-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Mahomes completed 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 119.8. Not bad for the way this season has gone, but Mahomes also had just two passes of 20 or more air yards in this game for 108 of those total passing yards.

It’s abundantly clear that the 2023 Chiefs will go exactly as far as their defense can take them, and at least there’s some good news there. Under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Kansas City ranks 10th in Defensive DVOA, and against the Bengals, it was Spags’ guys who put the nail in the coffin.

Harrison Butker kicked his sixth field goal of the day with 3:03 left in the game, and the Bengals started their corresponding drive with 2:59 remaining on their own 25-yard line. After two short passes that took the ball to the Cincinnati 45, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning saw his world unravel as the Chiefs sacked him four times in five plays — in 50 clock minutes from 2:14 to 1:24.

Spagnuolo alternated between Cover-2 and 2-Man on those four sacks, which was smart. Coming into this game, per Sports Info Solutions, Browning had completed 27 of 41 passes against those two coverages for 363 yards, 171 air yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, four sacks, and a passer rating of 71.5. And since the Chiefs had played the NFL’s sixth-highest rate of Cover-2 (17.3%, tied with the Buffalo Bills), and the highest rate of 2-Man (7.3%), everybody knew what to do on the back end.

The first two sacks were by safety Justin Reid, who blitzed from two different gaps. With 2:14 left in the game, Reid jumped from the box to the B-gap late in the pre-snap process, and went right into the pocket. Running back Joe Mixon tried to pick Reid up, to no avail.

Reid’s second sack came on the next play, with 2:00 remaining. This time, No. 20 rushed off the left defensive edge, and there was no concern about running back Trayveon Williams picking Reid up in pass protection, because Reid threw Williams out of the way on the way to Browning.

“It was a big moment,” Reid said after the game of those two sacks. “All of it just came down to execution. We were executing really all game and in the biggest moments, your biggest players in every situation… your players have to make plays. Coach Spags dialed it up for me to get home, we practiced it all during the week, everyone played their role to give me enough time to get home and we were able to make things happen.” 

Browning then hit receiver Tyler Boyd on a 23-yard play that took the ball from the Cincinnati 32 to the Kansas City 45, at which point the Chiefs started beating up on Browning again. With 1:30 left in the game, edge-rusher George Karlaftis got through on a straight four-man rush where he beat left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. around the back of the pocket. That has been Brown’s Kryptonite throughout his career, and as Brown used to play for the Chiefs, we’re pretty sure everybody involved understood that.

That took the ball back to the Cincinnati 49, and now, it was time for uber-disruptor Chris Jones to do his thing. Jones is the Chiefs’ best defensive player, and given the way the offense has played this season, he might be the best player on the team. With 1:24 left in the game, the Chiefs brought a six-man pressure pressure look on second-and-16 with Reid and linebacker Nick Bolton then dropping into short/spy coverage, and Jones made it third-and-27 in a big hurry. Left guard Cordell Volson had no shot against Jones’ cross-body rip move.

Browning threw two more desperation passes incomplete, and game over.

“I think in that situation we’re hanging on, we’re behind the sticks and you’re hanging on for some longer developing routes because you have to,” Browning said of those four sacks. “I don’t know what exactly happened. My eyes were downfield trying to throw the ball to somebody to convert. That’s that.”

Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie summed up the importance of that effort quite nicely.

“D-line, linebackers, safeties – I feel like last year with the same kind of guys we were really building and building and building. This year, I don’t know what to tell you, everyone is doing their job correctly, everyone is playing fast, and I think the trust is just there. That brings so much more confidence to everybody.”

Especially when your offense inspires little confidence from anybody.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get more into Spagnuolo’s defense, and how it’s saving the Chiefs’ season at this point.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Cleveland Browns could win the AFC’s one-seed in the playoffs

After their Thursday night win over the Jets, the Browns actually have a chance to become the AFC’s one-seed through the playoffs.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

After their 37-20 win over the New York Jets on Thursday night, the 11-5 Cleveland Browns not only clinched their second playoff berth since 2020 (the team had not made the playoffs before that since 2002), but they have an actual shot at the AFC’s one-seed.

Which means that the AFC playoffs might go through Cleveland.

Here’s how it needs to go.

So. If the Browns beat the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, January 7, and the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Dolphins lose to the Buffalo Bills? Yeah. The Dawg Pound will be home base.

As Chase Daniel said, this is wild. The Browns currently have a league-high 26% of their salary cap on injured reserve, they’ve turned Joe Flacco into Kurt Warner, and the guys they were without due to injury against the Jets was… well, remarkable.

If Kevin Stefanski doesn’t win Coach of the Year, there should be an immediate recount.

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 17’s biggest NFL matchups

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into Week 17’s biggest NFL matchups with tape and advanced metrics.

It’s time for Week 17 of the 2023 NFL season, and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games and interesting matchups:

Cleveland Browns-New York Jets: Joe Flacco is killing defenses with shot plays out of play-action, and as good as the Jets’ defense has been all season long, that’s a vulnerability on their side.

Detroit Lions-Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys have played more man defense than any other team this season, but all 10 of Jared Goff’s interceptions this season have come against zone coverage. Dallas played more zone against the Miami Dolphins last week; that trend might continue.

Los Angeles Rams-New York Giants: It’s time to check in on Matthew Stafford and what he’s dialing up in Sean McVay’s shape-shifting offense.

Miami Dolphins-Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens just came off a great game in which they beat the San Francisco 49ers on both sides of the ball, and Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins present similar challenges.

Cincinnati Bengals-Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs’ offense is circling the drain, and it’s everybody’s fault. Can they turn it around in time for the playoffs?

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring tape and advanced metric analysis of all Week 17’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Social media reacts to Steelers RB Jaylen Warren’s amazing block

Steelers RB Jaylen Warren dropped an amazing block on the Bengals Saturday, and social media appreciated his non-George Pickens effort.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had issues with their skill players blocking for their other skill players — specifically, receiver George Pickens’ lackadaisical efforts against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15’s 30-13 loss.

George Pickens’ run-blocking (or lack thereof) encapsulates Steelers’ dismal season

That kind of stuff can permeate an organization if you’re not careful, especially when Pickens came right out and dais that he wasn’t giving maximum effort because he didn’t want to get hurt, but running back Jaylen Warren was having none of it.

“I see where he’s coming from,” Warren told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It is what it is. At the end of the day, he was doing what he thought was best for him.

“Some people play the game differently. If I was in that position, I would have blocked for him. But we play differently, so…”

Well, on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals, Warren backed up his words with a ridiculous block to free receiver Calvin Austin on this seven-yard touchdown run with 14:21 left in the first half.

Twitter had a lot of nice things to say about Warren’s effort.

 

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 15’s biggest NFL matchups

In the latest “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into Week 16’s biggest matchups, the BIlls’ run game, and the Eagles’ backslide.

It’s time for Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season, and Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, are here to get you ready for the most important games and interesting matchups:

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings — How rookies Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs have come to define the Lions’ offense, and what the Bengals may have taught the rest of the NFL about how to attack Brian Flores’ crazy-quilt Vikings defense.

Dallas Cowboys at Miami Dolphins — Why the Cowboys had best be ready for Raheem Mostert and Miami’s run game, and the keys to the Dolphins’ drastic defensive improvement in the second half of the season.

Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers — Speaking of drastic defensive improvement in the second half of the season, did you know that the 49ers rank first in the NFL in Defensive DVOA since Week 10? A severe test for Lamar Jackson and Baltimore’s offense, especially without rookie running back Keaton Mitchell.

The guys also get into how the Seattle Seahawks beat the Philadelphia Eagles with the same play twice, and the Buffalo Bills’ amazing journey into becoming a force in the run game.

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.