Bengals are sacking QBs again, and it's keeping the defense afloat
The foundation of the Cincinnati Bengals' success since 2021 has always flown under the radar. While notable stars on offense are constantly in the limelight, the other side of the ball has operated with far more consistency, particularly in the most important games on the calendar. Cincinnati's defense has been the team's rock, and it's been […]
The foundation of the Cincinnati Bengals' success since 2021 has always flown under the radar. While notable stars on offense are constantly in the limelight, the other side of the ball has operated with far more consistency, particularly in the most important games on the calendar.
Cincinnati's defense has been the team's rock, and it's been rolling down a cliff of late.
Missed tackles, explosive plays allowed, and other uncharacteristic follies have turned a normally stout unit into something far less intimidating. These issues are showing up the most against the run, where the Bengals are 28th in EPA allowed/rush and 20th in success rate allowed. When you take out garbage time (win probability drops below 10%), the Bengals' run defense is a bottom-five unit in both categories.
In a league that's transitioning back to heavier personnel groupings and rushing success rates are rising with it, this is a problem that cannot go unfixed for an entire season.
So what's there to be excited about a defense that's underperforming? Look to where they aren't falling short: Sacking the quarterback.
Sack Attack
Turning pressures into sacks was a weakness for the 2022 Bengals. They had just 30 in 16 regular season games, and five three playoff games. That's an average of 1.84 per game for 19 total games.
Cincinnati has already racked up 15 sacks in just five games this season, which is half of their regular season total from 2022 before the unofficial one-third point of the year. An average of three per game would not only put them at over 50 for the regular season, it would place them in the franchise record books.
The 2012 Bengals hold the team record for most sacks in a season with 51, back when there were 16 regular season games. It's the only time a Bengals defense crossed the 50 threshold, and it wouldn't have been possible without the best season of Geno Atkins' career.
Atkins' 12.5 sacks that year earned him first-team All-Pro honors and a handsome contract extension the following offseason. It remains the sixth-most sacks for a defensive tackle since 2000, but it was the most since the turn of the century when it happened. He really was that guy back then.
It's only fitting that for the 2023 Bengals to keep their pace towards 51 sacks, another player will likely need to have a historic season.
Trey's Crusdade
Trey Hendrickson is responsible for six of the Bengals' 15 sacks through five games. His current pace puts him on trajectory for 20.5 sacks by the end of the season, which is bonkers regardless of context. There have only been 22 seasons in which a player has had 20 or more sacks. Almost all the players who achieved it have busts in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, or will eventually have one. One of them is also a former Bengal. Coy Bacon's 21.5 sacks from the 1976 season is ninth on the all-time single season list.
Cincinnati's only two-time Pro Bowler on defense is playing his best ball, and it's been enough to carry the rest of the defensive line. Of the nine Bengals with at least 25 pass rushing snaps this year, he has the highest win rate by far.
Bengals Pass Rushing Stats
| PLAYER | PASS RUSH SNAPS (PFF) | PASS RUSH WIN% (PFF) | Sacks (PFR) |
|---|---|---|---|
Trey Hendrickson | 131 | 23% | 6 |
Cam Sample | 61 | 11.9% | 0 |
Myles Murphy | 33 | 9.4% | 1 |
Josh Tupou | 35 | 8.8% | 0 |
Logan Wilson | 28 | 7.7% | 0 |
B.J. Hill | 142 | 7.5% | 2.5 |
Sam Hubbard | 135 | 6.3% | 2 |
Zach Carter | 75 | 5.6% | 0 |
DJ Reader | 113 | 4.7% | 1 |
Pro Football Focus, Pro Football Reference
It's almost entirely a one-man show right now. Sample and Murphy sporting the second and third-highest win rates despite having a combined one sack between them stands out both positively and negatively. Hubbard has never been known for his pass-rushing ability, but 6.3% would match his career-low from 2020.
The notable omission here is Joseph Ossai, who's rushed the passer just 14 times this year in three games. An ankle sprain took him out of the first two weeks, and he's been limited ever since he got back.
He's also won on 15.4% of his pass rushes. There's hope that translates to more production with a greater sample size.
Ossai might be the Bengals' best hope to give Hendrickson the help he needs. The man his teammates call "Black-Out Trey" is one of the very best in the business, but 20 sacks is a tall order for anyone. It cannot be reasonably expected.
Living and dying by causing chaos in the backfield will be how the Bengals' defense has to survive on its heels if run defense issues do not subside. Reaching an improvement in sacks is a mission accomplished from the offseason when they drafted Murphy first-overall and re-invested in Hendrickson, but it will be for naught if the rest of the unit fails to keep up.
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