36 Runs, 27 Passes

[Whatever]

(09-13-2021, 08:12 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Yes, Joe Burrow may indeed become elite someday and yes, we all love to see him throw accurate passes; he was 20/27 yesterday for 261 yards and two touchdowns.  That’s a job well done especially considering he took five sacks.  

This success was set up by the “other” Joe: Joe Mixon.  Joe ran 29 times for 127 yards and a touchdown.  A good run game forces the defense to “cheat up” which means moving toward the line which leaves the field behind them more open thereby increasing the secondary’s susceptibility.  

This run-pass balance will fluctuate depending on the defense but I personally like it when the Bengals pass and run in near equal amounts to keep the defense guessing.

A balance is always good if you can be effective with both.

That said, I felt like they got too conservative in the second half and it nearly cost them the game.  They ran 9 times in the first half, 19 in the 2nd half , and 8 in OT.  Props for sticking with it after only 27 yards on 9 carries in the 1st(and 13 of that was when they caught the Vikes napping with Perrine on a draw on 2nd and 20), but you just aren't going to beat many teams in the NFL by trying to grind clock with the run for a quarter and a half with a one or two possession lead.