Nonexistent Rushing

[jfkbengals]

(09-20-2020, 12:09 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Only 190 yards.

That’s what the Bengals have accumulated on the ground over the first two games of the 2020 season.  The breakdown is as follows:

Joe Mixon: 115 yards
Joe Burrow:  65 yards
Giovani Bernard:  10 yards

The Chargers and Browns combined for 370 yards against the Cincinnati defense.

To me this means the offensive line is even worse at run blocking than they are at pass blocking.  This is unacceptable but it explains why Joe Burrow has thrown 98 times in two games.  That’s way too many pass attempts even for an accurate quarterback!  

With no run game the Bengals are back in 2019 mode.  A team cannot move the chains consistently and manage the clock with no run game; this will take a toll on the defense as well as they will be on the field often and for too long.

I disagree with your assessment.

The first thing it points out is our run defense is atrocious, averaging 185 yards per game.

The run game against the Browns was bad, but against the Chargers it was pretty good, and yet Taylor abandoned it early (as he did most of 2019).  I don't think the blocking is worse, I think the play calling prevents the offense from getting into a rhythm.