Bengals have a hidden concern behind Dexter Lawrence II’s dominant start to 2026 season
Dexter Lawrence II has already made a significant impact for the Cincinnati Bengals. The concern now becomes whether or not Cincinnati is too reliant on its star in the middle.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ 2-2 record through four weeks is disappointing. Nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II‘s play during his first four games in Cincinnati has been the complete opposite.
Like he was from the majority of his time with the New York Giants, Lawrence has been one of the best defensive tackles in football this year. He’s in the top-five for both pressures and sacks, and the top-10 for stops in the run game at his position. He’s made numerous game-changing plays for his new team, and been the unquestioned tone-setter.
The only issue for the Bengals is they only have one of him.
Bengals defense is completely different with and without Dexter Lawrence II so far
Lawrence has averaged just about 45 snaps per game through the first four weeks of the season, playing 70% of the defense’s snaps. Opposing offenses have to account for him with multiple offensive lineman every single snap he plays. It should come as no surprise. The opposition has had an easier time when he has not been on the field.
Locked on Bengals podcast host Jake Liscow posted on/off splits for Lawrence so far this year, and the difference is staggering. Here is how much worse Cincinnati’s defense is when Lawrence is not on the field:
- +0.13 EPA/play allowed
- +8.5% success rate allowed
- +0.5 yards/play allowed
- +8.4% explosive rate
These figures may be hard to comprehend, so here’s a bit of reference. The Bengals are allowing -0.04 EPA/play on defense this year with a 44% success rate, per SumerSports. Their EPA/play figure ranks 14th in the NFL, and their success rate 19th. If their EPA/play allowed increased by 0.13, the difference Lawrence alone makes for their defense, they would rank 30th in the league. If their success rate allowed increased by 8.5%, they would rank dead last.
It’s not the largest sample size quite yet, but Lawrence is preventing Cincy’s defense from being one of the worst, if not the worst, in the entire league.
Validation mixed with concern for Cincinnati
The Bengals should feel a great sense of validation for acquiring Lawrence this past offseason. They took an unusual amount of flack for trading away the No. 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for a veteran who was entirely capable of this level of domination. The narrative surrounding the three-time Pro Bowler at the end of his time in New York was far too strong and separated from reality.
Lawrence has already made a significant impact for his new defense. He’s been the very definition of valuable, as proven by the numbers. The concern now becomes whether or not Cincinnati is too reliant on its star in the middle.
Those splits above are drastic. It’s terrifying to imagine what this defense would be without him. They already struggle when he’s just taking rest in their rotation. Asking him to play more would run the risk of making him less effective when he’s out on the field.
The Bengals designed their defensive front to have enough depth to allow a healthy rotation of competence no matter who is on the field. Lawrence is obviously the star of the bunch and should play the best, but when the rotation takes him out of the game, they need to be much better.
