So far this season, the Cincinnati Bengals defense has been the critical weakness of this franchise. In the past two games, this unit has seriously impacted the game by being completely incapable of stopping the opposing offense against two perennial bottom dwellers in the Carolina Panthers and the Washington Commanders. If this defense can’t figure out a solution going into Week 5 against a dominant Baltimore Ravens offense, this could be a rough week for this defense.
Cincinnati Bengals Commits Major Mistakes in Offseason
While it can be difficult to decipher, the biggest issue with this defense so far this season has been the inability to stuff the run at the point of attack. This defensive line has been incapable of slowing down the rushing attack as the team ranks 25th in the NFL in rushing defense and that is only because defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has dedicated linebacker Germaine Pratt to crowd the line of scrimmage on every play.
When this team let stout nose tackle D.J. Reader leave over the offseason, they did a horrible job replacing him by replacing the 335-pound run-stopper with 305-pound Sheldon Rankins. On top of that, both Rankins and the other starting defensive tackle B.J. Hill have missed the past two games with hamstring injuries leaving this unit with both undersized and underqualified alternates.
Defensive Rookie Owns His Time to Shine
In the past two games, there is one defensive lineman who has proven that he may have the strength and potential to actually help this defensive unit stop the run. That player is rookie Kris Jenkins Jr. While this team has been scorched both in the air and on the ground, Jenkins has established himself as a credible defensive lineman on the interior. Jenkins missed the first two games of the season but since coming back in Week 3 with a cast on his hand following thumb surgery, he has managed to play at a high level including stuffing Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard on the goal line on fourth down this past week.
Kris Jenkins pic.twitter.com/cAqxQ123bT
— Faux Joey Brrr (@FauxJeaux) September 29, 2024
In his two games, Jenkins has still only played 46 total snaps but he has earned a solid Pro Football Focus score of 68.4, earning him the title of best player on this entire defensive front. When asked about whether or not he was going to increase the snap count for the rookie out of the University of Michigan, Anarumo said “He’ll get as many as he can handle.”.
This team is desperate for Jenkins to have a huge game in Week 5 against the Baltimore Ravens after the opposing team has run ramshod over the NFL over the past few weeks. Running back Derrick Henry looks like his old self and on a team that has struggled to bring down ball carriers all season long, that could be a dangerous omen for this defense.
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