Bengals defense rises to top of NFL
Paul Dehner Jr.
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther sat down Monday and listed the big plays his defense gave up over the first five weeks of the season with relative ease.
There was the blitz Baltimore and Jeremy Maclin beat them on in the opener.
There was the 49-yard scramble by DeShaun Watson.
There was a missed tackle against the tight end in Green Bay, a pass interference penalty and Aaron Rodgers doing his Aaron Rodgers thing on the final drives.
Brandon Tate slipped behind them in the end zone against Buffalo.
“If I can sit here and ring off the five plays in five games, that’s pretty damn good,” Guenther said. “I couldn’t do that a year ago.”
No, he certainly could not. This defense allowed countless chunk plays while the first half of the year wasted away, much of it by their own doing.
“There are lot less holes in the boat right now,” said Guenther, whose defense ranked 16th in points allowed through five weeks last season. “Very few, actually.”
This season the defense, buffered by a rotating cast of rookies and first-time starters, enters the bye week among the best in the league. Pick your category.
- Yards allowed per game: 2nd
- Yards allowed per play: 1st
- Third down efficiency: 6th
- Percentage of drives ending in a punt: 1st
- Sacks per pass play: 3rd
- Points allowed per game: t-2nd
Guenther’s crew has allowed 1,314 yards through the first five games. That’s the fewest for the Bengals through five in the Marvin Lewis Era and lowest in franchise history since 1976. Also factor in two touchdowns and two field goals came when forced to start inside their own 25-yard line.
Nearly as remarkable as the success has been who made it happen. At one point during Sunday’s game the defensive line was manned by rookies Jordan Willis, Jake Glasgow and Carl Lawson along with William Jackson III at corner and first-year starter Nick Vigil at linebacker.
On Sunday, 31 percent of Guenther's total snaps available went to rookies or first-time starters. Vigil (100 percent) and Jackson (91 percent) led the way. All nine defensive linemen played at least 10 snaps.
Scenes like these have been more common than unique for the Bengals defense. Not only has this been Lewis’ youngest team, he’s let those kids play. Doing so has paid off, even if the coach gritted his teeth through a few moments.
“That is huge that you are getting such positive plays,” Lewis said. “We are not missing a beat. The human coach nature is to throw Michael (Johnson) or Carlos (Dunlap) back in there but then you see Jordan Willis making the plays he’s making or Glasgow make the plays. Carl time and time again. They are earning opportunity.”
Guenther won’t hide it. He’s surprised to see how fast the rookies and first-time starters seized his system. The coordinator learned early in his career to beware the inexperienced. He’s learning new tricks this year.
“My first year in coaching (the) AD told me for every freshman you play, you’re going to lose one ballgame,” Guenther said. “It always stuck in my mind. At this point in the NFL the way contracts are constructed you have to get them out there and playing and if they can play you’ve got to go.”
Off they go, looking like the backbone of any potential return to the playoff picture and painting an optimistic future. It’s still early, however, and last year proved how different a group can look from one half of the season to the next.
Critics can point to the competition. Outside of Green Bay, the Bengals haven’t faced the most potent offenses in the league. Although, holding DeShaun Watson to 13 points looks more impressive as the weeks roll by. Green Bay (6th) and Houston (4th) rank in the top quarter of the league in points per game. Baltimore (24th), Buffalo (25th) and Cleveland (30th) are among the worst.
The next two weeks offer an opportunity to repeat against Pittsburgh (t-19th) and Indianapolis (22nd).
“It’s hard,” Guenther said. “I don’t care who you are playing. The better we can understand what we are doing the better we can communicate and we can continue to stay healthy and roll these guys out there is no reason why we can’t get the same results week in and week out.”