CINCINNATI (AP) — At the start of the offseason, when Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor and director of player personnel Duke Tobin discussed their vision to rebuild the team’s defense, they harped on the importance of building a deep defensive line.
After heavily investing in pass rush during the offseason, that depth was on display in Week 1 as the Bengals beat Tampa Bay. The pass rush worked so well that the Bengals ended up scaling back their
blitz plan for the game.
Whether they have the same game plan Sunday at Houston remains to be seen.
“We didn’t go into the game thinking it’d be a low blitz rate,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “It’s the way it materialized. The four man rush was working. We built a 17-point lead. It shrunk quickly there. We adopted to what was happening in the game. Our four man rush was hitting. We moved that route.”
While defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence didn’t record any stats on Sunday, he was at the center of the unit’s success. He consistently set up tackle for loss and sack opportunities for his teammates, and his pressure played a role in two of the forced fumbles.
The Bengals traded their first-round pick for Lawrence in April, and he had a successful Bengals’ debut.
“It’s not always going to show up on the stat sheet,” Taylor said. “It shows up because of the production a lot of guys around him get oftentimes. And he still was in there and made his presence fell and Baker (Mayfield) had to try to get away from him a couple times. Had some runs he really affected as well. But as much as anything, you just see the production that comes to other people because of the attention he draws.”
Free agent signings Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen each had a sack in their team debuts, and Mafe’s sack turned into a fumble recovered by the Bengals.
Second-round pick Cashius Howell flashed, drawing an important holding penalty and consistently showing speed around the edge. The Bengals viewed Howell as a draft pick who could contribute right away, and he delivered right away in his role off the bench in Week 1.
“We had a bunch of first-round grades on him,” Golden said. “Let’s say, 12 guys graded him. We had eight, nine, maybe 10 people that maybe had first-round grades on him. We drove home Thursday night (of the draft) saying we have a real chance. And then it came to fruition. For him to fall to us was awesome. And he showed up (on Sunday).”
Last year, the Bengals counted on veterans BJ Hill and TJ Slaton to carry the defensive tackle unit. Now, they make up the middle of the Bengals’ second wave on the interior of the defensive line. In the season opener, the Bengals used their depth to their advantage to manage everyone’s snaps on a very hot day, and it paid off.
While it was just the season opener, the defensive line lived up to the hype.
“We have the opportunity to be a really good defense,” Allen said. “We have a lot of things to clean up. But it’s a good start.”
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