How are the Bengals overcoming all of their OL injuries and still having success? NFLPlayoffs | RuleTheJungle
Thanks to Carman and the rest of the fill-in offensive linemen blocking up front, running back Joe Mixon was able to run all over Buffalo in one of his best starts of the season. He finished the day with 105 rushing yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.
Without the efforts of the guys up front, that doesn’t happen. Another notable statistic from the Bengals’ matchup with the Bills in the divisional round was the lack of sacks Burrow took in the game. Just about a year after breaking a playoff record with nine sacks taken in last year’s wild-card round, the quarterback took just one sack and was hit just three times in Buffalo on Sunday. As much credit as the offensive line deserves for that, Burrow himself also gets credit for becoming a quarterback that’s much harder to sack than he was earlier in the season. Burrow started this year taking 13 sacks through the first two games of the season, raising concerns that the Bengals’ efforts to rebuild the line in front of him had failed. As the season progressed with the quarterback playing behind the same offensive line, the sacks count diminished. Part of it could have been the generally better play from the pass blockers up front, but a bigger part of it, the part especially noticeable on Sunday, was Burrow’s ability to process defensive looks quicker and get the ball out fast. On Sunday, it took Burrow an average of 2.5 seconds to get the ball out on his 36 pass attempts. With such a quick process and release, it was nearly impossible for the Bills’ pass-rush attack to get any pressure on the third-year quarterback. As a result, their 21.1% pressure rate was the lowest of any team in the divisional round. Even when Buffalo tried to disguise their coverages by dropping safeties or having them come down late, Burrow was unfazed. Quick processing was always one of Burrow’s strongest assets dating back to his time in college, and it’s something that has only gotten better as his pro career continues. As Cincinnati heads to its second consecutive AFC Championship Game, the backup blockers have to continue playing at a high level, yes. But the onus is also on Burrow to continue getting the ball out to his receivers quickly whenever he drops back, especially given the fact that he’ll still be playing with backups on the offensive line and a banged-up Ted Karras, their center. The Bengals can’t afford to have their quarterback taking a ton of sacks if they hope to make a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance. Based on how Burrow has played over the last couple of weeks, there’s plenty of reason to have faith that he’ll stay upright on Sunday.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bengals’ Eli Apple Clarifies Tweet After Being Called Out by Bills’ Shaq LawsonEli Apple spent Monday night talking trash on Twitter to the Bills after the Bengals beat Buffalo over the weekend. Bills defensive lineman Shaq Lawson felt Apple took his trash-talking too far
Read more »
Which former Ohio State football players are on the Cincinnati Bengals with Joe Burrow?Here's the list of former Buckeyes who will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game Sunday night.
Read more »
NFL’s Joe Burrow reveals favorite game – it’s not the one you think it isCincinnati Bengals Quarterback reveals his favorite video game.
Read more »
Chiefs ‘Don’t Want to Mess It Up’ Against Bengals, AgainAfter blowing a 21–3 lead against the Bengals last year, the Chiefs are back in the AFC championship with a shot at redemption Rosenberg_Mike on the lessons Kansas City learned from the collapse
Read more »
Delilah Belle Hamlin ‘silently battling and overcoming’ chronic health issuesThe daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin said she has kept quiet about her health struggles because she didn’t “want to be put in a ‘sick’ role.”
Read more »
Bengals QB Joe Burrow named finalist for league MVPThe Bengals' quarterback is one of five finalists for AP MVP.
Read more »