Bengals Week 2 PFF Recap: 3 stats to know
Every week, win or lose, we'll dive into the premium stats from Pro Football Focus and identify three stats to know from the previous Cincinnati Bengals game. We saw a nice bounce back performance this week from one of the Bengals' top players despite losing to the Baltimore Ravens. The loss is better understood when […]
Every week, win or lose, we'll dive into the premium stats from Pro Football Focus and identify three stats to know from the previous Cincinnati Bengals game.
We saw a nice bounce back performance this week from one of the Bengals' top players despite losing to the Baltimore Ravens. The loss is better understood when diving into a concerning stat from the defense.
Let's see what the advanced stats had to say about the Bengals' Week 2 performance.
WR Tee Higgins: 2.47 yards per route run
Higgins went from zero catches on eight targets in Week 1 to ranking eighth in yards per route run amongst 22 receivers with at least nine targets in Week 2. The fourth-year player also scored the first two touchdowns for the offense this season.
The Bengals used Higgins over the middle more often this game compared to the season opener. He caught five passes between the numbers for 76 yards after only having one target in that area of the field against the Cleveland Browns.
LT Orlando Brown: One pressure allowed
Cincinnati's new left tackle is really settling in. He had a few miscues against the Browns and responded well a week later by allowing one hurry on quarterback Joe Burrow in 45 pass blocking reps.
Brown and the rest of the Bengals' offensive line performed really well against the Ravens' pass rush as only nine pressures were allowed on the day.
Bengals defense: One quarterback hit on Lamar Jackson
Conversely, the Ravens' offensive line was even better protecting their quarterback against the Bengals' defensive line. Not a single pass rusher for the Bengals' front four achieved a pass rush win rate greater than 10%. That's not going to get it done no matter the opponent.
This could be chalked up to a lack of preparedness against the Ravens' new offense. Traditionally, the Bengals have allowed Jackson to stay in the pocket and wait for him to try and escape. Their efforts to contain via mush-rushing him backfired as he commanded the pocket expertly and diced up the Bengals' secondary throughout the day.
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Featured image via © Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
