Samaje Perine was the Cincinnati Bengals’ leading rusher on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, and he provided a spark that this ground game hasn’t had enough of so far this year.
The veteran running back logged 14 carries for 68 yards during the game. That 4.9 yards per carry is the highest number for a Bengals running back this season. Perine also added 2 receptions for 10 yards, and found the end zone for Joe Burrow’s second touchdown pass of the game.
Chase Brown has not been able to get fully
going consistently this year in the running game. He had 20 carries for 80 yards against Houston, and followed that up with a respectable 13 carries for 61 yards in Pittsburgh. Against Jacksonville in Week 4, he only ran the ball 9 times for a total of 10 yards. This week he ran the ball 13 times for 39 yards.
One thing I still like about what Brown brings to the table is being a receiving threat out of the backfield for the Bengals. He hauled in three receptions for 21 yards against the Dolphins. One of those came on a play with Perine in the backfield, and a play-action fake to get Brown the ball out in the flat. He was able to make a guy miss and picked up the first down.
Perine, on the other hand, is never going to wow anyone with his speed or elusiveness (except for the Chiefs in the 2021-22 AFC Championship), but he is a dependable player who consistently moves the chains when given opportunities. His 14 carries on Sunday actually outnumbered the 13 carries he had during the first four games of the season.
I think getting the two players closer to a 60-40 split on carries each game makes sense going forward. With that split, you can afford to give either guy closer to the 60% based on who has the hotter hand during that particular game.
Do you think Samaje Perine deserves a larger role in the offense moving forward? Sound off in the comments.
