Cincinnati Bengals: Players to watch vs. Jaguars in Week 9
By Kenn Korb
1. Joe Mixon
Jacksonville enters this game with significant strengths to utilize and weaknesses to exploit on each side of the ball. Offensively they can dominate with Fournette on the ground, but will not have much chance to win if the game is put in Bortles hands.
Defensively, things are even more pronounced. They are the premiere pass defense group in the entire league right now (league-leading 33 sacks — including two 10-sack games — No. 1 in Football Outsiders’ Pass Defense DVOA). At the same time, they have been highly susceptible to rushing attacks (5.2 yards per carry allowed — worst in the NFL — No. 32 in Run Defense DVOA).
The takeaway? To win against Jacksonville, you must run the ball well. If you don’t, your drives are gonna end up in tons of long down-and-distance situations, allowing that devastating pass rush to go off on your quarterback. This is especially prescient for Cincinnati, since their quarterback is notoriously bad versus pressure and their offensive line is one of the NFL’s worst in a year where bad line play is a major storyline league-wide. That’s where Mixon comes in.
Cincinnati’s young running back has slowly been worked into the starting role for the Bengals, but at this point he’s clearly their No. 1 rusher, and a rotation which still gives far too many carries to Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill should continue to weigh more heavily in his favor going forward.
Even with somewhat limited chances though, he’s still managed to be one of the offense’s best weapons in flashes. He’s the leading rusher for the Bengals, and he ranks highly on the team in receiving yardage (189 yards; third), 20+ yard plays (3; second), first downs accumulated (22; second), and yards after catch (212; first).
What he hasn’t done yet is put up any consistent effort on the ground. He may lead the team in rushing yardage, but that is with only 253 yards — and those have come on just 3.0 yards per carry. His longest rush is for just 25 yards, and only twice has he picked up even 50 yards on the ground in a single game (with 62 being his career high as of now).
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Cincinnati needs balance here more than most weeks to keep the game from going haywire. If they have Dalton drop back a bunch in this game, they’ll get him killed, and those withering playoff hopes could dissipate completely. Despite the red flags and off-field problems he brought with him, Mixon was happily selected by the Bengals to be a dynamic playmaker. It’s time he fulfills that promise for more than just a quick glimpse.