Was Austin the Problem with the Defense?

[CJD]

BONUS STAT:

Okay, I did 3rd down percentage.

It was sitting in the back of my mind as a curiosity, so I just went ahead and did it.

The format is exactly the same as the first post.



With Austin, we allowed conversions 56.15% of the time.
Without Austin, we allowed conversion 38.71% of the time.
An improvement of 17.44 points.

With Austin, they were allowing 3rd down conversions a whopping 12.4% more than the opponent's season average.
Without Austin, they were allowing a 3rd down conversion only 0.1% more than the opponent's average.

Under Austin, they held a team below their season average just 1 time.
Without Austin, they held a team below their season average 3 times.

On the whole, the Bengals ended the season dead last in 3rd down conversion % allowed.
With Austin, they were also dead last.
Without Austin, if that period of time were compared to the entire regular season for other teams, they would have come in at 17th place. Not great, but not abysmal either.

Obviously, the same asterisks apply: generally better offenses in the first half, more injuries and a worse Bengals offense in the 2nd half etc.

The bottom line is Austin's defense ***** sucked.