02-28-2020, 03:56 PM
(02-28-2020, 02:58 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: If you look closer, you'll realize that in the final 4 weeks of the season, they played the...
30th ranked rush defense
6th ranked rush defense
27th ranked rush defense
30th ranked rush defense
They were successful running against the 6th ranked rush defense because the Patriots were happy to allow the Bengals to run the ball in a game the Bengals lost by 3 scores.
Even if you only focus on the 2nd half of the year, the Bengals still couldn't score even 20 points per game. Despite being lifted by a 35 point game against the 32nd scoring defense.
So I think you're giving the running game more credit than you should. It basically just beat up on the Browns twice and then Zac Taylor kept running the ball in the Ravens/Patriots games that they lost 83-26. Both teams were more than happy to allow the Bengals to run it and end the game faster.
It is amazing how far some people will go in order to try an shit on the Bengals.
First half of the season we also played the 24th ranked run defense (Arizona) and the 28th (Jacksonville) and we only had a combined 141 rushing yards in those two games.
We did play the Browns twice in the second half of the season and in both of those games we gained more rushing yards than 11 of their other 14 opponents. We are not the only team that played weak defenses and we did better against the Browns weak run defense than all but three other teams.
And if the Patriots are "happy" to give up rushing yards in blowout wins why did the Steelers only get 33 in a 30 point loss, or the dolphins 42 in a 43 point loss, or the Jets an average of 57 in two losses by a combined 63-14?
You also ignore the fact that the Raiders had the #8 rush defense in the league and we rushed for 173 against them in a close game. Only one other team ran for more yards against them all season.
