Cincinnati Bengals: Can Jeremy Hill find consistency in time of need?
The Cincinnati Bengals might not have Andy Dalton back at any point in the regular season, so it is critical for 2014 workhorse Jeremy Hill to finally show some week-to-week consistency here in the 2015 season.
After a disappointing first half of the season, Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill seemed to bounce back to his rookie form by putting up 86 and 98 yards on the St. Louis Rams and Cleveland Browns in Week 12 and Week 13, respectively. Hill was one of the NFL’s most effective rushers as a rookie, setting the league by a storm with his violent rushing style that led him to rack up yards after contact almost at will.
ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Who are the greatest head coaches in NFL history?
However, Hill’s 1,124 rushing yards and 5.1 yards per carry have not been replicated this season, as the former LSU star is putting up just 3.6 yards per carry. He’s still been out-gained by Giovani Bernard this season, and only his eight touchdowns stand out as a positive when looking at the stat sheet.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
With Dalton out until Week 17 at the earliest and no guarantees beyond that, particularly if the Bengals are unable to secure a playoff bye, the onus is on Hill to step up. We all saw what he’s capable of last season, so it would be foolish to deny his talent as a hard-nosed, foundation back who can punch the ball into the end zone regularly.
What the Bengals need from Hill for the remainder of the regular season is consistency, because despite back-to-back strong performances against the Rams and Browns, he’s been the Ryan Tannehill of running backs from week-to-week.
While the Pittsburgh Steelers run defense is borderline-elite and hasn’t been successfully “beaten” since Latavius Murray had 96 rushing yards against them in Week 9, you would like to see a player of Hill’s potential caliber putting up more than 16 yards on seven carries against them. Heck, those numbers would be appalling even for a less-celebrated second-year rusher like Tennessee Titans backup Bishop Sankey.
So while Hill was unable to make it three good games in a row to get off the schneid, he has an excellent opportunity to carve up the San Francisco 49ers this week. A.J. McCarron will be under center for Cincinnati in Week 15, meaning that Marvin Lewis and Hue Jackson will give their bruising back ample opportunities to, perhaps, have his first 100-yard game of the season.
Hill should see this light Week 15 matchup against a below-average 49ers run defense as a springboard for the Bengals all-important Week 16 battle with the Denver Broncos. With just 17.3 points per game allowed, there’s no question that the Broncos have the NFL’s best defense, and they are also first in the NFL in net yards per pass attempt and yards per carry (3.3) allowed.
Dec 13, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill (32) carries the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
This means that they will be equally as good at shutting down McCarron (it would be unrealistic to expect Dalton to be back by then, but we’ll see) and the Bengals many talented pass-catchers as they will be at shutting down Bernard and Hill.
Although the pressure on Hill is somewhat eased by Bernard’s presence, the Bengals need their workhorse to be at his best, particularly with McCarron at QB and such a difficult Week 16 opponent on tap. If they can’t beat the Broncos, then they can pretty much kiss a playoff bye “good-bye”; that’s the magnitude of this game.
It’s easier to trust a player with Hill’s skill-set to have a team-elevating performance against the NFL’s No. 1 run defense than it is to expect McCarron to have any sort of success against a pass defense that is just ludicrously good at rushing the passer and shutting down receivers.
Next: Where does A.J. Green rank among NFL's best WRs?
At this point, the Week 15 and Week 17 games against the 49ers and Baltimore Ravens are “filler” games on the schedule in which the Bengals would almost have to try to lose. It’s all about the Week 16 matchup against the Broncos, and with Dalton most likely out for that encounter, a lot rests on Hill.
He’s only had a few good games this season and hasn’t made a big impact outside of the red zone, so it would be nice to see one of the 2014 season’s brightest stars vault back into form; we’ll see if he can do just that against San Francisco’s defense, which didn’t impress in their Week 14 loss to Cleveland.