What’s changed with Cincinnati Bengals since Week 17 (and what hasn’t)
By Scott Loring
WHEN THE CHIEFS HAVE THE BALL
What has changed?
Most dramatically for Kansas City, the Chiefs plan to deploy starting left tackle Orlando Brown, who missed the game in Cincinnati when he was injured in pregame warmups. Disaster struck when Lucas Niang, who began the season at right tackle but replaced Brown on the left side, went down with a season-ending patella injury. At that point, Joe Thuney moved out to tackle from left guard, and Super Bowl LV starter Nick Allegretti entered the lineup. The Chiefs made do as best as they could with that offensive line, but it certainly limited the team’s playbook, particularly in the screen game.
Speaking of the screen game, the Chiefs’ running back room has been as unpredictable this month as a Tom Brady retirement announcement. Darrel Williams was the hot hand in the backfield on January 2nd, racking up over 100 total yards that game. But since then, Jerick McKinnon has come on strong in both rushing and receiving. And last week, Clyde Edwards-Helaire returned from injury and had several big-chunk plays on his way to 69 total yards on just seven touches.
The Bengals will welcome back linebacker Germaine Pratt, who missed Week 17 while under COVID-19 protocols. Pratt finished third on the team in total tackles with 91 in 2021 and has played about 80% of Bengals’ defensive snaps in the postseason.
The Chiefs’ offense ranks first in the NFL on third downs, converting over 52%. Meanwhile, the Bengals’ defense ranked 22nd on the season, but in the Divisional Round, they held the Titans to just 1-of-8 on 3rd downs. To be fair, the Titans were probably struggling to sort out their offensive identity while returning workhorse running back Derrick Henry from a long-term injury in that game, but make no mistake about it: The Bengals worked them over.
What hasn’t changed?
The Chiefs are still doing a marvelous job of protecting the ball better than they did early this season. Since the Bengals game, the Chiefs have only turned the ball over once – a tipped interception against the Steelers – while scoring 37.3 points per game in those three games. But the Chiefs will again need to be smart with the football. The Bengals defense has forced 7 turnovers in their three games since Jan. 2.
The Bengals don’t sub much. Compared to most NFL rosters, Cincinnati prefers to keep its top defenders on the field much more frequently. All starting defensive backs as well as linebacker Logan Wilson (who had the game-changing interception at the end of the Titans game) play 100% of all snaps. Most notably, their defensive linemen tend to play 80-90% of all defensive snaps. Defensive end Sam Hubbard typically plays about 90% of snaps, and defensive tackles BJ Hill and DJ Reader have logged 80%+ in recent weeks.
Expect defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who recovered from COVID in January and has worked his way back up to speed, to play almost the entire game at Arrowhead. Hendrickson logged 14 sacks this season, and his matchup against Brown, Jr. is a pivotal one.