To say that the rushing game was underwhelming in 2019 is an understatement. We all know that it is not a result of having a poor running back group. Joe Mixon and Gio Bernard are the one-two punch that teams dream of. A mixture of speed, blocking, power and catching ability is the mix to be successful. So why were the Bengals so bad at the run in 2019?
2019 by the Numbers
The Bengals only rushed for a total of 1,517 yards last season. This was the 8th worst total yards. Their yards per carry was 3.94 (Joe Mixon’s was 4.1, Gio was 3.2) which ranked them 9th worst. 9 total touchdowns which was tied for 6th worst. Shockingly the Jaguars only scored 3 rushing touchdowns in 2019….3! Lastly, the Bengals only ran a running play 36.75% of the time. This put them 30th in the league.
Reasons for the Lack of Production
There are some reasons for these poor numbers. The obvious one would be the turmoil that existed all season in the offensive line. It was a carousel of position movements and it appeared that when they settled in with a consistent lineup Mixon was able to get it going. In the last four games Mixon was on fire rushing for 162, 50, 136 and 146 yards and 3 total TDs in those games. Stability helped the running game but so did the return of Andy Dalton who finished the final five games of the season.
The Bengals also were playing down early a lot. This forced them to pass more and play catch up. When your first drive starts three and out its a problem. When you are facing 2nd and 7 yards often you are also forced to pass. 3rd and 4 yards……pass. When you are not scoring points, getting first downs and staying competitive you cannot milk the clock and create a run/pass tempo. The Bengals never seemed to really have that all season.
Lastly the pass game was not a great offensive weapon to open up the run. How many times did you go back and watch games in slow motion (ok maybe that is just me) to see what WRs were open. They were not. Dalton had nowhere to go with the ball in the time that he had in the pocket. The pass game was not good enough to allow for the run game. You could sit there like Tony Romo and call pass or run in our offense before the snap took place.
2020 Fix
So how do we get better in 2020? Certainly the offensive line must be better, it has to be…it can’t be worse. Getting Jonah Williams into the lineup will certainly help. Competition at the guard spots will also be helpful since this is where the majority of runs go through.
A healthy AJ Green will also spread the offense out and get some open looks to create that run/pass tempo. Oh yeah we have Tee Higgins too. Oh yeah we have one of the top slot receivers that can go back into the slot again (Boyd). Auden Tate, yeah he is good too. Wide receivers are going to be more open next season and this will pull linebackers back into zone defense and put safeties on notice. Less stacking the box and more concern over where the ball is thrown rather than shutting down Mixon and automatically winning the game.
A mobile Joe Burrow will certainly help. He is no Patrick Mahomes but the dude can extend plays, run for yards and get outside the hashes. So now defenses must account for the wide receivers, the running backs and Joe Burrow’s legs. Andy Dalton was an okay runner but it was never in the playbook for him to take off, it was more of a necessity to not die in the pocket. Burrow adds this third threat which will benefit everyone in the offense.
Lastly play calling must change. I was really excited to see the new Taylor offense. The stuffy Marvin era was over and a young coach should have brought in a little razzle dazzle. We didn’t see much of that in 2019 and maybe because he was always patching holes. The full playbook is open now though and you could not ask more from the offensive skill positions. Use them but don’t be a gadget and gimmick offense (see Ravens). The Patriot way is using each player for plays that suit them the best. Do more of that.