Bengals D.C. Lou Anarumo Voices Pride in Defensive Performance at Dallas, What He'd Like To See Down the Stretch

Jay Morrison | Dec 11, 2024

Dec 9, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) is tackled by Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Marco Wilson (42) in the first quarter at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor talked about getting emotional after Monday night’s win because it had been so long – 36 days – since the team had been able to celebrate one.

For defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, it was a feeling of pride.

“The end of half defense, three-and-out, and then certainly end of the game closing it, I thought were well done by the guys,” Anarumo said. “Proud of the ways they handled both of those situations.”

The three three-and-outs the Bengals defense forced in the 27-20 victory against the Dallas Cowboys were tied for the third most this season.

They had five in the Week 11 road loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and four in the Week 10 road loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Anarumo said the third-down defense and man coverage were the keys to holding Dallas to 20 points and 166 passing yards.

“We did well on third down,” he said, referencing the Cowboys’ 4-on-12 conversion rate. “Just some pressures, and I thought we were tighter in our man coverage across the board. We played some zone, and the guys were in good shape, got good rush – three sacks. So rush and coverage working together.”

The 33 percent third down rate was Cincinnati’s third best of the year behind 27.3 against the Chargers and 12.5 at Kansas City.

The coverage got a boost from waiver-wire signing Marco Wilson, who played 12 snaps after logging just one in his Cincinnati debut the previous week against Pittsburgh.

Wilson finished with a Pro Football Focus passing coverage grade of 69, the third highest number on the team.

DJ Ivey II continued to lend third-down support.

“I thought DJ's snaps were kinda similar, just a few more third down-and-longer situations where we put him in,” Anarumo said. “And Marco is just taking some of those man jobs. He'll have some other jobs that go along with that this week so maybe not just 'hey, he's out there, they're gonna play man.' We'll do some other things with him this week as well.”

A fourth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, Wilson was released by the New England Patriots on Nov. 18, the day after DJ Turner II to a broken clavicle, and the Bengals put in a waiver claim.

“He can run. He's fast,” Anarumo said. “He's done a good job of staying sticky in coverage and anchoring at the top of the route. Just overall coverage skills, we like. We thought with where we were at, we needed another guy who could come in and do that. So, so far, so good.”

Anarumo also praised the play of safety Geno Stone, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt and, despite a couple of penalties, rookie Josh Newton.

“I know Josh had a couple of penalties, that’s going to happen when you’re being aggressive,” Anarumo said. “We certainly don’t want any, but I’d rather be that way and tight than be off and soft and nobody is on anybody.”

Asked if he thinks the final four games can rewrite the narrative about what this season has been defensively, Anarumo didn’t want to speculate.

"I don't know. We'll take a look at everything at the end,” he said. “We’re just trying to keep getting a little bit better each week.”

Anarumo already is playing all of the defenders on the roster with the exception of rookie safety Daijahn Anthony, who has been inactive two of the last three weeks and has not played a defensive snap since Week 7.

“Other than the practice squad guys, everybody's been kind of out there,” Anarumo said. “So we'll see. I don't see any major shifts here coming up. 

“I'd like to maybe see where Daijahn's at as he continues to practice well and do certain things,” he added. “But again, most of our young guys are all out there playing. All hands on deck.”

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