Cincinnati Bengals: Players to watch vs. Jaguars in Week 9
By Kenn Korb
Highlighting some key Cincinnati Bengals players for the team’s Week 9 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The game versus Indianapolis ended up being as much of a trap as I feared, and if not for a late interception return for a touchdown by Carlos Dunlap, these Cincinnati Bengals would be sitting sad at 2-5. Fortunately for anyone still holding out hope for a playoff appearance by Cincinnati though, Dunlap did make that play and the Bengals won for the third time in four games.
This week brings a much tougher challenge than the moribund Colts, however. Jacksonville has created a devastating defense and a punishing running attack; in conjunction, those areas have been effective enough to limit how much their quarterback (the notoriously bad Blake Bortles) has to do in a game. It’s worked surprisingly well so far, with the Jaguars sitting at 4-3 and appearing as a legit contender for the AFC South crown.
Cincinnati has some poor matchups in certain regards here, but they have their own strengths which could turn the tides in their favor as well. Here are some players who will be at the forefront of those efforts; if they perform well, Cincinnati has an excellent chance to reach 4-4 and firmly plant themselves at the center of the playoff mix.
3. Shawn Williams
One of the reasons for Jacksonville doing well this season has been their offense becoming a successful, run-heavy unit. Right now, no team utilizes run plays more often than them. It’s worked out extremely well for them: their 1,183 rushing yards are 129 more than the next-closest team (Dallas at 1,054), they lead the league with a 5.0 yards per rush attempt, and their eight rushing touchdowns are one behind the league lead.
It’s simple: to stop Jacksonville’s offense, you must force them to go away from their running game. The player who should be key to that is Williams. I say “should be” for a reason, however. The loss of Reggie Nelson in free agency last season forced Williams into a starter’s role for the first time in his career, and he played relatively well. The best parts of his performances tended to be in the run game, and that fit in well alongside fellow safety George Iloka (who was better in coverage).
This year however, while his coverage has been decent the run defense aspect of things hasn’t been there for Williams. Pro Football Focus Edge grades him as poor in that aspect to this point in the season (43.7 on their 0-100 scale).
He’s going to need to play better here. Jacksonville’s first round draft pick Leonard Fournette has proved to be every bit of the immediate star he was expected to be (596 rushing yards, 4.6 yards per carry, six rushing touchdowns), and even without him last game Jacksonville was still able to do well due to the efforts of Chris Ivory (47 yards, one touchdown) and T.J. Yeldon (122 yards, one touchdown).
Having their defensive front play well will be a good first step to Cincinnati’s success, but it will take their linebackers and defensive backs managing to crash down and make quick, powerful tackles — both as individuals and as a group — to prevent a run-heavy Jacksonville offense from finding a consistent rhythm. Williams will be a key piece of that equation, but if he cannot regain his prior form against the run the Jaguars will get to enforce their will and control this game.