Cincinnati Bengals: Big takeaways from Preseason Week 3
By Kenn Korb
Mixon (And The Run Game) Stuck In The Mud
After having a strong ending to last season, Joe Mixon is far and away the lead back for what has been expected to be an improved rushing attack in 2018. Based on the efforts this preseason however, we may have to pump the breaks on the expectations for this branch of the offensive attack.
Against Buffalo, the team had an abysmal time trying to run throughout the game. It took them 27 attempts on the ground to rack up a meager 68 rushing yards — just 2.5 yards per carry. This isn’t a one-game anomaly, either; Cincinnati managed just 54 yards on 24 carries against Dallas (2.3 yards per carry), and when you exclude Clayton Fejedelem’s 49-yard carry off a direct snap during a fake punt the team had 95 yards on 27 rushes (3.5 yards per carry).
Mixon’s efforts have been especially troubling. He’s carries the ball 13 times and garnered a measly 24 yards on the ground (not even two yards per carry). His longest rush is only five yards. He has explosive ability in him (just see his 24-yard touchdown reception against Chicago), but it hasn’t translated at all into any sort of useful gains on the ground through three preseason contests.
It isn’t all on Mixon, of course. The unchallenged No. 2 runner, Giovani Bernard, had a decent showing against the Bears (four carries, 23 yards) but has just five yards on five carries in the past two preseason contests. The offensive line, while showing useful improvement in pass protection, has been abysmal at opening up holes for runners throughout these preparatory contests.
With this third preseason game in the books, we likely aren’t going to see much more from the starters — especially since the team Cincinnati faces to end the preseason is the same one they open the regular season against (Indianapolis). Suffice to say, any potential improvements will where most of us won’t see it — if they come at all.
For Cincinnati’s sake, they better hope whatever decisions they make while deciding who makes the roster and who starts will help alleviate their run game problems.