Bengals' offensive line has greatly benefited from the Jake Browning offense
Everyone on the Cincinnati Bengals' offense is happy scoring 34 points in each of the past two games. It's also very difficult to put up that level of scoring with a struggling offensive line.The changes head coach Zac Taylor and his assistants have made to the offense has directly impacted the Bengals' o-line, and the […]
Everyone on the Cincinnati Bengals' offense is happy scoring 34 points in each of the past two games. It's also very difficult to put up that level of scoring with a struggling offensive line.
The changes head coach Zac Taylor and his assistants have made to the offense has directly impacted the Bengals' o-line, and the results have been nothing but positive.
After Jake Browning was sacked twice last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Indianapolis Colts failed to sack the ascending quarterback even once. Browning's line has also had fewer true opportunities to get him in unnecessary trouble.
Entering Week 13, when the offense was structured around the strengths of Joe Burrow, the Bengals deployed "True Pass Sets" for 47.6% of all legitimate drop backs in the pass game. Pro Football Focus defines a True Pass Set as follows: "Excludes plays with less than 4 rushers, play action, screens, short drop backs and time-to-throws under 2 seconds."
Looking at just the past two weeks, the Bengals have used True Pass Sets for 28.9% of Browning's drop backs (excluding spikes and penalties). Nearly a 20% decrease in putting the line in situations that make it easier for opposing pass rushers to generate pressure, and of course, sacks on an inexperienced quarterback.
PFF charged the Bengals' pass protection with 21 sacks in the previous 11 games. Two in the following two contests is obviously a sign of improvement despite the lack of sample size, but that's not the only data point worth looking at.
Just 10 pressures have been allowed by the line since Browning's coming out party last Monday evening. The average pass blocking grade for his starting linemen is a whopping 76.26. The average prior to the shift? 55.14!
The drop in True Pass Sets has also made them more effective in the limited chances they're put in those situations. The average grade for a Bengals lineman is 72.1, another massive improvement compared to the 52.28 average leading up to Week 13.
As the offense becomes easier for the quarterback under center with an increase in quick and short passes, pressure on the offensive line decreases tremendously, both literally and figuratively.
It's an important factor to remember when Burrow retakes his spot as QB1 in 2024.
Bengals are finding answers to an alarming issue
Credit is due for such a quick fix.
