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Cincinnati Bengals: Giovani Bernard’s quietly killer season

By Kevin Parvizi

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Although Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill has suffered a disappointing sophomore slump, the team’s rushing attack has been downright impressive thanks to Giovani Bernard’s emergence as an efficient ball-carrier behind a stout offensive line, specifically an underrated guard duo.

The Cincinnati Bengals were unable to defeat the Arizona Cardinals in last night’s marquee matchup between an elite AFC and an elite NFC squad, as Carson Palmer was able to bounce back from two first quarter interceptions to cement his MVP candidacy further with 317 passing yards and four TDs in a revenge game.

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Sometimes, it’s hard to find bright spots in a loss, but there were plenty of players on the Bengals who showed up in this loss. Whether it was fellow MVP candidate Andy Dalton basically matching Palmer yard-for-yard or Geno Atkins blowing up plays, the Bengals did everything they could in this 34-31 loss.

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One player who stood out to me was Bengals running back Giovani Bernard, and he’s in the midst of the best season of his career here in his third season. It’s not that Bernard played poorly in his first two years, but after an inefficient sophomore season in which he was benched for Jeremy Hill, who seemed to be on his way to being a top-five RB, expectations for the explosive UNC product weren’t high heading into this season.

Instead of the 2015 season being a banner year for Hill, it’s been a season of Bernard starring behind one of the NFL’s elite passing attacks. The Bengals are fifth in the NFL in points per game and third in the league in net yards per pass attempt, so there’s no doubt that Bernard benefits greatly from the players around him. But to average 5.4 yards per carry after averaging mediocre 4.1 and 4.0 marks in his first two seasons represents a marked improvement for the Bengals back.

Once again, Bernard was out-touched by Hill, who finished the game with two touchdowns for his first scores since Week 4 (Hill had three touchdowns in that game), but he also out-touched and out-snapped the former LSU star. Hill has earned 19 more carries than Bernard so far this season, but with an average of just 3.3 yards per carry, Hill has produced a whopping 161 less yards. He has seven rushing touchdowns and is obviously the short-yardage back (just look at the size disparity between both players), but Bernard is fourth on the team with 34 receptions; Hill has eight.

Bernard’s importance to the Bengals is evident, and his ability to use his agility to make defenders miss in the open field has been huge. Just yesterday against an elite Cardinals defense that neutralized both A.J. Green and Marvin Jones, Bernard was the team’s top receiver by a wide margin. Not only did he lead the team with eight receptions on ten targets, but he also managed to turn those catches into a whopping 128 yards. Heck, he had even more receiving yards than Larry Fitzgerald did on three fewer targets.

Without Bernard as an option in the passing game, you could only imagine how difficult life would be for Dalton in games like this. We always talk about how Tom Brady and the New England Patriots excel at using explosive backs in the passing game, such as Dion Lewis and, previously, Shane Vereen, but Dalton and the Bengals deserve plenty of credit for getting Bernard involved in important games. They saw a big mis-match against the Cardinals, and they exploited it by using Bernard frequently. With 13 receptions in the past two games, his role in the passing game seems to be increasing.

Nobody is going to walk around proclaiming that Bernard is a star or a central part of the Bengals offense, but Super Bowl contenders need players like him who can provide a specific skill-set. So even if he weren’t averaging over five yards per carry, Bernard’s versatility and game-breaking speed would make him an asset anyway. But once you factor in the fact that he’s one of the league leaders in missed tackles forced and yards after contact, per Pro Football Focus, and is finally moving the chains with consistency, you start to wonder if the Bengals offense would be elite without him.

See, one of the hallmarks of the Bengals offense has always been balance, and, with Tyler Eifert and Jones at full strength this season, they’ve added the ability to spread defenses out with multiple weapons. Bernard has helped immensely in both regards, so his all-around impact is more pronounced than some think. As the Patriots and Cardinals can attest, top offenses need to have a variety of weapons, and this blend should include players who add overall breadth to the ability of the offense; Bernard certainly achieves this for Cincinnati.

Maybe I’m trying to overcompensate for the fact that I was perhaps a tad unnecessarily critical of Bernard’s play in his first two seasons, but, the way I see it, he’s quietly become a true standout. Bernard is having himself an excellent season by accomplishing what the Bengals need when they need it.

Nov 16, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard (25) runs the ball against the Houston Texans in the first half at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

What do I mean by “when they need it”? Well, according to Sporting Charts, Bernard is tenth in the NFL in first down%, as 25.7% of all of his carries move the chains. That’s pretty darn impressive, and Bernard has managed to combine the playmaking ability he’s always had with new-found consistency.

He’s undoubtedly benefited from the line in front of him and Dalton and the passing attack, but only LeGarrette Blount and Thomas Rawls have been stuffed less frequently among running backs with at least 100 carries.

Additionally, Rawls and LeSean McCoy are the only backs with less than 150 carries and at least 15 runs of at least ten yards on the season.

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Plus, he’s tenth among running backs in receptions, so you could build the argument that all of the stats show that he’s been a sure-fire, top 20 back in the NFL this season and perhaps higher if you want to look at him solely from an efficiency standpoint.

So while you are busy praising players like Dalton, Eifert, and Green, don’t forget to shoot Bernard some praise.

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