New York Giants Week 6: A Look at the Cincinnati Bengals Defense

What can the New York Giants expect when the Cincinnati Bengals and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo come to town?

Sep 15, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (29) and linebacker Logan Wilson (55) celebrate against the Kansas City Chiefs after a play during the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The New York Giants faced familiar faces on the field against the Seahawks last week. This week, they faced a familiar face on the sideline: former defensive back coach Lou Anarumo, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator. Here’s what the Giants could be up against on Sunday night.

Personnel

The Bengals pass-rush features a one-man show right now in Trey Hendrickson, who has 22 pressures on the year after registering 66 last season.

Behind Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard has just ten pressures off the edge. Both edges are solid run defenders in terms of taking on blocks but they’ve also struggled to finish plays consistently this year.

The interior of the defensive line got another former Giant back in B.J. Hill. Hill has made significant strides since getting traded to the Bengals and has emerged as a reliable interior pass-rusher.

The Bengals' interior line has been a revolving door this year due to injuries, and they’ve struggled to find anyone who could fill in the gaps.

There might not be a linebacker defending the run better than Logan Wilson is right now. Wilson was one of the more athletic linebackers in the 2020 NFL Draft and always had the skillset to operate in coverage dating back to his Wyoming days.

This year, he seems to have truly put it all together as a complete backer, with his ability to diagnose and attack the run as well.

Germaine Pratt is the other off-ball linebacker who sees significant playing time for the Bengals. He’s been relatively inconsistent this season. He can run and hit with reckless intent, but he’s also just that—reckless.

The Bengals safety room, on paper, is very enticing but has been far from impressive. Vonn Bell had a strong three-year stint in Cincinnati from 2020 to 2022 before signing with the Carolina Panthers and having a lackluster year.

Now back with the Bengals, Bell is still trying to find his footing again.

Geno Stone came over this past offseason from the division rival Baltimore Ravens but has had a lackluster start to the season. Stone had four missed tackles against his old team this past Sunday.

On the outside, Cam Taylor-Britt has been the mouthpiece that has given a soundbite seemingly every week but has also backed it up in most games. 

Dax Hill was the Bengals' first-round pick in 2022 and is still looking to find his footing in his first year as an outside cornerback. Hill spent the first two yards of his career moving all over the secondary. However, he suffered a season-ending injury last week/

Mike Hilton missed last week’s game against the Ravens but is back at practice and has a good shot at returning to the game on Sunday. Hilton’s been one of the better nickel defenders in the NFL throughout his career but is now at the dreaded 30-year-old drop-off age. I’m curious to see how he holds up this year.

Scheme

The Bengals aren’t exactly a blitz-heavy defense with a blitz rate of 26.9%, the  16th-most aggressive in the NFL right now. When they rush additional players, they use linebackers like Wilson and Pratt or bring either the boundary safety or nickel defender as a rusher.

Just because a team doesn’t blitz frequently doesn’t mean that it doesn’t try to overload sides and create pressure with additional rushers.

The Bengals, like many modern NFL defenses, use creepers, also known as replacement blitzes, to generate pressure without sacrificing coverage on the back end.

Creepers take a traditional pass-rusher, such as an edge defender or interior defensive lineman, and drop them into coverage while a non-traditional rusher, such as an off-ball linebacker, nickel defender, safety, or boundary corner, now rushes the passer.

The purpose is to overload one side of the offensive line, causing confusion with the line and quarterback–all while still having seven defenders in coverage. Coverage-wise, the Bengals will play mostly Cover 1, Cover 2, and Cover 3.

Overview

If I were the Giants, I would attack specific players in coverage. Pratt has the athleticism to work in coverage but lacks the awareness to make plays on the ball.

Stone is another player who has struggled in coverage this season and could be attacked, especially if matched up against a shifty receiver like Wan’Dale Robinson.

Against the Seahawks, Jones picked up 38 rushing yards on 11 carries. Last week, the Bengals gave up 55 rushing yards to Lamar Jackson.

Through this season, the Bengals have given up 32.8 rushing yards per game to quarterbacks - the second-most in the NFL while also allowing the second-most rushes to quarterbacks.

This is yet another game where Jones should have opportunities to use his legs to make plays and pick up first downs to extend drives.

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