Was the play where Apple got faded by Kupp in the 4th a bad play by Apple?

[Sled21]

(06-11-2022, 08:50 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: The Bengals ran a little half slide to the left. The protection was set up for Spain and Hopkins to be available for Donald. However, Donald lined up wide, over Jonah. 



When the ball is snapped, Donald goes wide. It really becomes congested with the wide 9 rusher and Donald jamming up that left side. This also leaves Hopkins without a man, but in those situations, he has to stay there. He can't run over and try to do anything yet. You can tell he is watching that side though.



Hopkins notices that Spain is beat and tries to turn around and get back there but can't get there in time.



The Rams set Donald up to ensure that he had a 1-on-1 opportunity with the LG. Their mentality was probably that if a RB was kept in to block, they would take their chances on Donald vs. RB. For the playcall, the Bengals ran this play several times throughout the season. In the week 17 game against KC, the Bengals used this exact play and setup (I.E. Chase going deep) to score a TD in the second quarter, bringing the game to 21-14. They really liked this play, and they also hit Higgins on it as well. 

TL;DR - The Rams also had a good setup to really make it difficult to double team Donald. They were ensuring they had Donald vs. Spain. 

Nice breakdown.