Cincinnati Bengals: Jeremy Hill’s critical re-emergence
As a rookie, Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill looked like a sure-fire, top-ten player at the position in the future, laying waste to defenses with 1,124 rushing yards and 5.1 yards per carry in his first season.
Unfortunately for Hill, things didn’t go as planned in the first half of his sophomore season, as he hit a wall and was thoroughly out-produced by Giovani Bernard for the vast majority of the 2015 season. After scoring a pair of touchdowns in Week 1 in an otherwise inefficient 19-carry, 63-yard day against the Oakland Raiders, Hill failed to run for 50 yards in a game until Week 6. In between then, he scored three more rushing TDs in Week 4 against the Kansas City Chiefs, but beyond sporadically punching the ball into the end zone in bunches, Hill looked like one of the biggest second-year disappointments in the NFL.
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Worse yet, it took him until Week 12 (the Bengals last game in November) to have a game with at least 50 rushing yards and more than four yards per carry. Essentially, until about the third-quarter point of the regular season, Hill was the only ineffective skill position player on an elite Bengals offense that is currently fourth in the league in scoring.
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But not only did Hill eclipse 50 yards and 4.0 YPC in Week 12 against Aaron Donald and a stout St. Louis Rams defense, but he finished the team’s 31-7 blowout victory with 86 yards on 16 carries. In a game that saw Todd Gurley earn just 19 yards on nine carries, it was the 2014 rookie running back sensation who shined that afternoon in Cincinnati, as the Bengals cruised to victory against an inferior opponent.
It was the same story yesterday for the Bengals. They faced an easy team with no offense in the Cleveland Browns, held them to just one score, and put up 30+ on offense. The 37-3 victory over their rivals moved them to 10-2, and, this time, Hill got to take advantage of a soft defense. Even without Tyler Eifert, Andy Dalton and the Bengals absolutely hammered the Browns, who probably have the worst defense in the league, through the air, and Hill took full advantage.
22 carries for 98 yards and a touchdown is an impressive stat line, particularly for a player who, again, has only just started to find his form from an efficiency standpoint (he did have a pair of TDs in a Week 11 loss to the tough Arizona Cardinals), but Hill was even better than the numbers indicate.
Most of the former LSU star’s yardage came after first contact, though it’s not like the Browns defensive line challenged the Bengals elite O-Line too much yesterday. In any case, Hill ran the ball in an authoritative manner for the second straight week, finally looking like the elite bulldozer he was in the 2014 regular season.
The Bengals two blowout victories are a product of the opponents they faced, but you can only imagine how scary this team will be going forward if Hill continues this pace. Last year’s dominant numbers couldn’t have been a fluke, and it looks like Hill’s bounce-back will come quicker than Doug Martin‘s bounce-back to rookie form, which took a few years. Hill’s downward spiral to start the 2015 season was far more perplexing, since, unlike Martin, his QB and line are playing the best football of their careers.
Dec 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill (32) runs against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Perhaps Hill isn’t back to his best, per se, but he’s finally back to being a positive on the Bengals offense. This is a huge development for obvious reasons, but Hill’s re-emergence is an even bigger deal when you look at the team’s upcoming opponents.
His recent success couldn’t have come at a better time, since the Bengals must face a high-flying Pittsburgh Steelers offense in Week 14, as well as the Denver Broncos elite defense in Week 16.
Both of these teams can stuff the run, so having a hard-nosed rusher to balance out a high-octane passing attack against two tough opponents in two critical games is key with the Bengals looking to lock up a playoff bye.
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Over the past three weeks, Hill has finally been able to earn more yards after contact, and, well, he looks like himself again. With Giovani Bernard also a threat in the backfield with his average of 5.1 yards per carry this season, the Bengals offense just might be the league’s most well-rounded.
It’s hard to argue against the notion that they have the league’s best running back duo if Hill’s recent performances continue, and, because he played so well last year, we have every reason to believe that his turn-around is legit.