Cincinnati Bengals: 3 Reasons for win over Bills in Week 5
By Kenn Korb
2. Sack Party
A big reason Cincinnati was able to keep Buffalo from ever finding much of a consistent rhythm at all on the afternoon was the Bengals defense’s ability to get their hands on Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
In total for the contest, the Bengals managed to sack Taylor six times. Those were part of eight separate quarterback hits forced by the unit. With his 38 dropbacks (37 passing attempts, one run) for the game, that means Taylor was put on the ground nearly once every six dropbacks. If you look at him just getting hit, it shows he couldn’t even go five dropbacks without having a Bengal getting him in their grasp.
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That sort of consistent attacking pressure is a major hindrance to the opposition. Buffalo’s longest run on the afternoon went a mere 14 yards, and their longest passing play managed just 24 yards. The team picked up a single play of over 20 yards, and a team built to run could only gain 10+ yards on a rushing plays twice.
That pressure also was key in forcing errors by Buffalo blockers. Twice holding penalties were called on what should have been big plays (a 44-yard McCoy rush and a 10-yard Taylor scramble). Of the six Buffalo penalties in the game, those were the only two on the offense, but spotlighted the issue the group was facing against the Cincinnati pass rush.
As has happened most weeks, the pressure being forged was due to a stellar group effort. Much-maligned (and spotlighted player of this week) defensive end Michael Johnson led the way with two sacks, while Geno Atkins, Carl Lawson, Jordan Willis and Vontaze Burfict all contributed a sack each. The quarterback hits all came from this group as well. In addition to those sack numbers already given, Atkins and Lawson both added an extra QB hit each.
Cincinnati’s deep, multi-faceted pass rush is the biggest strength of this team right now, and through five games, their 18 sacks sit behind only a Jacksonville team which picked up half of their total (20) in a single game. This group’s ability to burst through their competition with a cavalcade of pass rushing options should make them a tough matchup every week.