Bengals Tackle Cody Ford Did Something No One Has Ever Done - He Erased Steelers Edge Rusher T.J. Watt

Jay Morrison | Jan 5, 2025

Dec 15, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Cincinnati Bengals guard Cody Ford (61) warms up before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH – Ja’Marr Chase tied the Cincinnati Bengals record for touchdown catches in a season and moved into the Top 10 in NFL history with a 127 catches.

Trey Hendrickson tied an NFL record with his second game of the season with at least 3.5 sacks.

Backup running back Khalil Herbert, forced into a starting role due to the ankle injury to Chase Brown, set a career high with seven receptions.

There were a number of strong performances and stats Saturday night in Cincinnati’s season-extending 19-17 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.

But one of the most impressive ones might be one you didn’t notice.

And one you won’t see on the boxscore.

With rookie right tackle Amarius Mims suffering from a broken right hand, Cody Ford made his first start at right tackle since a Wildcard playoff game his rookie year in 2019.

That day, Ford had to deal with Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.

Sunday night, Ford fought off younger brother T.J. Watt and erased him from the record of the game.

Twenty-one players appear on the defensive stat chart. Watt isn’t one of them.

Watt played 56 of the team’s 71 snaps and recorded no sacks, no pass breakups, no quarterback hits and not even a single tackle.

“Cody Ford is not a guy that we talk enough about,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “This guy has played left guard, he started at left tackle, he started at right tackle. Sometimes he does it with no practice during the week because it’s a last-second switch.

“This week we said, ‘Hey, you’re going to start at right tackle against T.J. Watt, one of the best to ever do it,” Taylor added.

What was Ford’s reaction to that assignment?

“Let's go,” he said. “It's nothing crazy, just another week at this point. S--t, let's go win the game.”

Watt has played 120 games in his career, including playoffs.

Sunday was the first time he’s been held without a tackle, pass defense or quarterback hit.

Officially.

Watt sacked Burrow and forced a fumble in the second quarter, but a holding penalty on Pittsburgh cornerback Cory Trice Jr. negated the play.

Before and after that play, Watt was a non-factor.

“Very impressed,” left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. said of Ford’s performance. “He's showed up every single day and worked his tail off. Obviously, I'm a little biased because he's my brother, but he's done everything he needs to do, and we've been able to rely on him a ton.”

It’s not as though the Bengals left Ford one-on-one with Watt all game. They used tight ends Drew Sample and Cam Grady to give Ford some help.

But a lot of teams employ a lot of double teams on Watt, a four-time All Pro and 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, and he’s never been erased the way he was Saturday night.

“It just goes back to listening to (offensive line coach Frank Pollack), taking his coaching, taking the drill work into the game, trusting the technique, trusting the guys next to me and trusting myself,” Ford said. “When you do that, good things can happen.”

Ford suffered a chest injury in the third quarter and spent some time in the blue medical tent.

Mims, with his broken right hand, came in and fended off Watt for 14 snaps before Ford was able to return to the game.

“It was important to get back in there,” Ford said. “First of all, I wanted to finish the game for my teammates and finish it for myself. I just wanted to go back out there and show these guys. I know everyone's battling something, some type of nick or injury. I'm not gonna be that one guy who says ‘I’m gonna sit out.’”

On Sunday, Ford plans to sit on Brown’s couch and watch the games that could get the Bengals into the playoffs.

Even if they don’t make it, Ford’s season will have ended with one of the best games of his career.For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

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