05-05-2022, 04:27 PM
(05-05-2022, 04:12 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I think the turnover story with the Bengals is what ultimately defined their season. It's SUPER interesting.
They were +-0 when it comes to plus/minus on the season. You could say the season shifted when Joe stopped throwing so many INTs.
He only threw 3 picks during the last 7 games of the season after throwing 11 during the first 9.
After the God awful first Cleveland game and when Joe acknowledged he needed to stop forcing things (week 9), they ended up +4 in the remaining games. The defense turned the other team over 12 times in the last 8 games of the season.
Then the defense went on a run where they turned the other team over during the playoffs at a clip of 9 turnovers in 4 games.
No way the turnover rate in the playoffs is sustainable, but I would imagine something like what they did in the remaining 7 games could be sustainable for this defense. To me its not so much about the number of turnovers the defense gets, but its that coupled with the offense (Joe) taking care of the ball.
The improvement that Joe had from first half to second half of the season is astonishing. I posted it in a different thread recently, but using EPA per pass attempt, Joe ranked 21st in the first 10 weeks of the season. For the final eight weeks, Joe ranked 2nd. The Cleveland game you mentioned killed him, sending him from 12th to that 21st spot. If Joe can maintain that level of play, then we are in for a fun season.
