Bengals Hoping to Play Complimentary Football in 'Must-Win' Matchup Against Cardinals

Cincinnati enters Sunday's matchup with a 1-3 record.

The Arizona Cardinals may be 1-3, but the Cincinnati Bengals will have their hands full on Sunday in the desert as they look for their second win of the season. 

A lot of attention has been placed on Cincinnati’s offense and rightfully so. With Joe Burrow playing through a calf strain, that side of the ball has barely had a pulse this season, scoring just three touchdowns. 

It’s no secret that the scheme Zac Taylor runs is quarterback centric. They've struggled in large part because Burrow is less than 100%. Defensive coordinators have taken advantage of the situation and blitzed the star quarterback more than normal and will likely continue to do so until he shows the physical ability to protect himself and extend plays.

The trouble Cincinnati is dealing with on offense is starting to carry over to the defensive side of the ball. The Bengals offensive three-and-out rate is tied for the highest in the league with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 48%. Without the ability to stretch the field and extend drives, Burrow’s offense is being forced to the sideline earlier than nearly every other team in the league. 

Playing complimentary football has been virtually non-existent for this team and Cincinnati’s defense is paying a heavy price for it. Lou Anarumo’s group has had its stamina tested at a high clip in each of the team’s three losses. The Bengals have been outscored by 45 points this year and in their three losses specifically, the opposing team’s offense has controlled time of possession by 13 game minutes or more and averaged 388 total yards of offense.

The Bengals ranked 31st in the league in stopping the run. They’re going into Arizona on Sunday needing to stop one of the most productive running backs in the league with Pro Bowler James Conner. They must also contain a quarterback in Josh Dobbs who likes to use his legs and athleticism to avoid pressure and make plays.

"I like to do it [run] when the defense gives me those right looks," Dobbs said this week. "It keeps the defense on their heels and it's a part of my skill set and something I've been good at shoot, since high school and it's good to keep a defense on their heels. Obviously we are not running the Q counter until the cows come home, but we are able to be a triple threat back there.”

Dobbs threw for 265 yards, two touchdowns, and posted a 102.2 rating against the San Francisco 49ers last week. 

The Bengals know they'll have to tackle better if they're going to slow down Arizona's rushing attack.

“Tackling is an effort thing and we have to put a little more emphasis on it. It sounds silly from a defensive standpoint saying you have to put an emphasis on tackling but that’s what we need to do, that’s where we are at,” safety Nick Scott told All Bengals. “We are facing a couple of good backs here and we haven’t done as well as we would’ve liked with the tackling and we are going to try to ramp that up a little bit."

Before the season started 12-year vet Mike Thomas told All Bengals that it took him three years to fully grasp Lou Anarumo’s defense, which has a big reputation for being complicated. It’s complicated to learn, but it's even harder to play against when it’s executed correctly. 

There's a reason Anarumo is called “The Mad Scientist.” When the players understand how to play the coverages and sell the intended disguise, it does exactly what it's intended to do, which is to confuse opposing offenses. It forces them to make critical mistakes in big game situations.

Cincinnati got younger in the secondary this offseason with Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell leaving in free agency. The staff probably anticipated that the offense would be able to carry the team to wins, especially early in the season, but that plan hasn't come to fruition.

Second-year safety Dax Hill is certainly a bright spot in that room. Hill has two interceptions, one sack, 34 solo tackles (four for loss) and three passes defensed in four games. 

Starting cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is starting in his second season. Scott is in his first season with the team after signing a three-year contract in March. 

“It’s something I’m working at every day,” Scott said. “He’s got such a schemed up ordeal and it changes week to week depending on who you’re playing and that’s what makes it great. I’m just trying to continue to challenge myself and stay on top of it and be a help for whoever has questions or anything like that.”

Putting themselves in position to take up space and close the gap between them and the ball carrier has been a point of emphasis for Cincinnati’s defenders this week entering a must-win game in Arizona.

Stopping the run and pressuring Dobbs starts in the trenches. The Bengals have been missing third-year defensive end Joseph Ossai who suffered an ankle injury in the preseason. Ossai has the ability to make big plays while taking some of the pressure off of Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson. He returned to game action last week, but only saw five snaps as the coaches try to ease him back into the fold.

“They’re trying to protect me and help me because I want to go 110% every time, so they’re trying to help me get back in there and they’re doing a great job of that,” Ossai told AllBengals.

The third-year defensive end says they feel confident in going up against a quarterback who likes to use his legs after dealing with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore twice a year and now seeing Deshaun Watson twice a year.

“We see a lot of that in our division so it's nothing crazy, nothing different but he’s doing a lot of great things. He hasn’t turned over the ball and he’s playing at a high level,” Ossai said. “We just have to go in and be focused, be detailed and play how we know how to play ball and come out with the dub.”

The Bengals are hoping to right the ship on Sunday. 

Dating back to 1990, only 6.8% of NFL teams have made it to the playoffs after starting 1-4 and the team knows their Super Bowl hopes and dreams will start to slip with another loss this early in the season.

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