Cincy Jungle
The Cincinnati Bengals defense can fly a bit higher after actually closing out a game the team had no business winning. We saw a bit of how new defensive coordinator Al Golden’s defense works, but more importantly, we saw a bit of how the rotations at certain positions will work.
The big one is the defensive line, especially at defensive end, where the team has plenty of players with high expectations. That includes former first round pick Myles Murphy. He got 22 of the 76 defensive snaps on Sunday. He had one pressure on 12 pass rush attempts and no stops on the day, according to Pro Football Focus. That put him behind Trey Hendrickson, Joseph Ossai, and Shemar Stewart.
Not where you’d like to see a player drafted that highly in the rotation. Fortunately, it appears his defensive coordinator saw something promising from his playing time.
The reality is Cincinnati is going to give Murphy every opportunity to succeed. He is also the only defensive end under contract past 2025, except for Stewart.
If he shows even a little promise, they need him to build on that in a big way for not just his own career but the future of the position for the team.
