Outside of star defensive end Trey Hendrickson, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive line has left a lot to be desired in the first three weeks of the 2023 season.
The loss of defensive tackle D.J. Reader in free agency and an avalanche of early-season injuries have contributed greatly to the Bengals’ abysmal 0-3 start. The Bengals will have to adjust schematically as injury news on the defensive line is not looking favorable as they head into their week-four matchup with the Carolina Panthers.
The Cincinnati Bengals will likely be missing two of their top interior defensive linemen again
As of Friday, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor told the media that defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins is out and fellow defensive tackle B.J. Hill is doubtful for the Panthers game.
Rankins was one of the signings made by the Bengals front office to try to replace Reader. Rankins is more of a pass-rushing defensive tackle as opposed to Reader’s specialty in stopping the run. The Bengals did sign a defensive tackle, but the D.J. Reader-sized hole in the defensive line was never fully accounted for before the 2024 season.
Before being injured in the last-second loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Rankins contributed seven tackles, five stops and one quarterback pressure in 70 snaps. A large portion of Rankins’ value is the ability to constantly rotate defensive linemen, especially when the defense struggles to get off the field.
Hill, who was also injured against the Chiefs, is doubtful and if he is absent against the Panthers he will also contribute to the problem of lack of rotation on the defensive line.
His three QB pressures, two stops and four tackles don’t tell the whole story when it comes to how much worse the Bengals’ defense is when his tired backup is on the field in the red zone at the end of a drive compared to either a fresh backup or a fresh version of Hill.
The Cincinnati Bengals defensive line could improve greatly when healthy
The Bengals’ defensive line is off to a rough start as they were allowing the third-most rushing yards between the tackles this season with 168 yards allowed heading into the game against the Commanders. Their four runs of 10+ yards allowed between the tackles heading into Monday Night Football tied for the fourth-most in the NFL.
The Bengals allowed over 100 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns against the Commanders, but the bigger defect that came about as a result of a decimated defensive line was the pass rush or lack thereof. In an article from The Athletic, head coach Zac Taylor addressed the issue.
“That is certainly an area that was not good enough last week,” coach Zac Taylor said, “just getting pressure on the quarterback.”
Outside of Hendrickson, whose 13 pressures account for 35.1% of all the Bengals’ pressures, no other Bengals defensive lineman has been able to get consistently attack the opposing quarterback. No other Bengals defender has more than four pressures on the season.
Hendrickson has three sacks this season as well, which accounts for half of all sacks by the Bengals this season. Hendrickson’s high-pressure rate comes even though he is double-teamed more than any other player in the NFL.
It’s time for the first win rate chart of the year!
Double team rate when pass rushing as an edge (x) by pass rush win rate at edge (y).
(ESPN Analytics / NFL Next Gen Stats) pic.twitter.com/1wdbcOgkKi
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 26, 2024
One player who could change this lopsided pressure from the Bengals is their 2023 first-round draft pick, Myles Murphy.
Murphy suffered a knee sprain in training camp just before the beginning of the season, but Bengals faithful were happy that Murphy’s injury was only supposed to put him out for 4-6 weeks. Murphy should be working his way back into the lineup soon as the Bengals are heading into week four and his ability as a pass rusher and a run stopper will drastically change the outlook for the Bengals’ defensive line.
If Murphy, Hill and Rankins are all back along with their new rookie defensive tackles Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson at some point in the future, their entire defensive outlook could change drastically. That being said, the 0-3 Bengals are in win-now mode and if they can’t survive the next week it won’t matter who comes back.
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