Dawgs By Nature
We ask about the Bengals’ running game, their run defense, and more.
This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns return home as they take on the Cincinnati Bengals. To help preview a few topics from the Bengals’ perspective, we reached out to Anthony Cosenza from Cincy Jungle and exchanged five questions with him.
Chris: “Nick Chubb returns to action this week, so Browns fans are hoping the run game can ignite this offense. How has the Bengals’ run defense been so far?”
Anthony: “In short, the run defense for the Bengals hasn’t been good this year. They have given up the fifth-highest amount of yards on the ground at 876, while allowing 4.4 yards per carry. Teams have been able to extend drives with solid runs that set their offense up for manageable situations.
There are nuances, though. For instance, the Bengals are doing okay, in terms of allowing huge runs, with only three 30-plus and 1 40-plus yard runs this year, which is respectable and notes that it’s been more a ”death by a thousand paper cuts”. Derrick Henry had 92 yards against the Bengals, but he was largely bottled up all day until he busted out a big run on the final overtime drive to skew his numbers.
Still, the return of Chubb is a huge storyline this week. He’s been a Bengals killer in this era of “The Battle of Ohio”, so everyone is wondering how he’ll look in his first game back from a big injury and against a team with which he’s had much success.”
Chris: “Cincinnati drafted OT Amarius Mims with their first round pick. How has he fared at right tackle? ”
Anthony: “He has been looking pretty good. The original plan wasn’t to have him start this early, as they had veteran Trent Brown manning the right tackle spot, but Brown went down for the year in Week 3 versus Washington.
His athletic profile going into the draft has translated, as Mims has looked like a dancing bear out there. Some hiccups were made last Sunday night against the Giants’ solid pass-rush, but that was more issues with communication and the passing off of stunts. Mims was specifically drafted for a game like this, as the team hasn’t had answers for Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt, so I think everyone is curious to see how he fares.”
Chris: “How has the Bengals’ ground game been without Joe Mixon?”
Anthony: “It’s been hit-and-miss. Zack Moss has just 3.6 yards per carry and two touchdowns, while also having a critical fumble last week. Chase Brown has been far more explosive, putting up 5.5 yards per carry and continuing to be a threat as a receiver. Cincinnati committed to going to a committee approach at this position and it’s come with mixed results, though many are wondering/clamoring for more work from Brown.”
Chris: “Tell us about one player who Browns fans may not have heard of, but who could have an impact on...
