As we’ve been doing for several years now, we’ll break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual standpoint. Like last year, Josh Carney and I will cover the opposing team’s offense. I will focus on the scheme, Josh on the players.
Today, our scouting report on the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense.
Bengals Scheme Report
Bengals Run Game
Something they’re leaning on more now that QB Joe Burrow is done for the year, though credit to QB Jake Browning for holding down the fort. RB Joe Mixon remains their top guy seeing action near the goal line. Over his last three games, Mixon has four rushing scores. He still hasn’t been an efficient runner, averaging under four yards per carry without a ton of big plays, but they trust him, and he’s handled a heavy workload. Mixon is on the field 72 percent of the time, a career-high.
What’s new to the running game is rookie Chase Brown. Missing a chunk of the season with a hamstring injury, Brown is healthy now and providing the big plays that had been missing from the ground game. With double-digit snaps in each of his last three games and 24 carries over that period, he’s averaging over 4.4 yards per carry while also getting involved in the passing game with six receptions, 108 yards, and a long TD off a screen.
Mixon is primarily used on the team’s power/gap and split zone run schemes while Brown is seeing action on tosses/crack tosses. Examples of both, Mixon No. 28 and Brown No. 30.
On the year, the Bengals have only 10 total rushing touchdowns but six of them have come over the last four games. Browning has two of those and they like to use Tush Pushes and QB sneaks in short-yardage and goal-line moments. They have only 32 runs of 10-plus yards, 26th in the league.
Some other offensive stats. They’re 14th in points per game with 21.9. In their last three games under Browning, they’ve scored at least 27 points, and their output hasn’t skipped a beat. Situationally, they’re not good on third down (36.7 percent, 21st) but strong in the red zone (61 percent, seventh). But the best thing they do is protect the football. On the year, just 12 giveaways, tied for the NFL’s fewest, while their plus-11 turnover ratio is second in football, only trailing the San Francisco 49ers.
Bengals Pass Game
Browning has replaced Burrow, but the Bengals are still in the playoff race. He’s 3-1 as a starter, his only loss coming to the Steelers in Week 12. Overall, Browning has played well while getting help from his top weapons in the passing game. Over the last three weeks, Browning is completing an incredible 76.7 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
His top WR is Ja’Marr Chase, who won’t play due to a shoulder injury suffered last week. On the year, Chase leads the team with 93 receptions, 1,156 yards, and seven touchdowns. But WR Tee Higgins will play after missing the first Steelers’ game. He had a tough start to the year battling drops and injury but has played well lately, including two touchdowns in the Bengals’ Week 15′ win over the Minnesota Vikings. Veteran Tyler Boyd remains a steady possession threat with 59 grabs, though his 9.7 yards per reception is easily a career-low.
Other notable names to get more involved over the last couple of weeks include TE Tanner Hudson (11/105/1 line over the last three weeks) and as mentioned above, the RB Chase Brown, a threat in the pass and run game. They like to use tight end and running back screens that, overall, have been successful.
With Chase, they were doing a great job of changing his alignment, working him inside as the slot or No. 3 and getting him on favorable matchups with lots of space to run the entire route tree. Obviously missing him will be a loss in that regard. With Browning, they like using smash concepts, a combination route of a flat/curl and corner route. Read the flat defender and if he takes the underneath route, throw the corner. If he sinks, throw it underneath.
It’s a lot of combination routes and triangle reads for Browning. The Bengals also use a lot of empty sets to spread the field out horizontally and allow Browning to pick his matchup one-on-one. The Bengals have also mixed in some trick plays. They haven’t been working but Cincinnati has remained persistent. Twice, they tried throwbacks to their quarterback against the Jacksonville Jaguars and against the Minnesota Vikings, they ran a tight end sweep and attempted a throw that was defended well by the Vikings.
Josh’s Individual Report
It’s Bengals week, Steelers fans!
My, how things have changed since their last meeting.
Back on Nov. 26 the Steelers improved to 7-4 and looked to be on a roll after the firing of former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, while the Bengals had fallen to 5-6 and looked to be down and out.
Fast forward a month. The Steelers are 7-7 and likely to miss the playoffs, while the Bengals are 8-6 and riding high through Jake Browning experience.
Football, man.
Since making his first NFL start against the Steelers, Browning has settled in nicely and really gone on a run. He’s thrown for 300 or more yards in two of his last three games and has seven touchdowns to just three interceptions on the season.
The Bengals have put a lot of trust in him, and he’s rewarded them with some impressive play, including strong comeback wins against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings in overtime in recent weeks.
He might not move the needle much in the grand scheme of things, but he’s playing some great football, taking advantage of his opportunity with Joe Burrow out for the season. He’s playing smart, sound football and is making some big-time throws down the field when called upon.
Guys are rallying behind him, too, and it’s showing. The Bengals are playing some really good football offensively.
Though they’ll be without star receiver Ja’Marr Chase against the Steelers, and potentially the following week as well, the Bengals remain loaded with playmakers offensively.
Wide receiver Tee Higgins is coming on strong as he continues to develop chemistry with Browning. He’s coming off a big game against the Vikings and will be the No. 1 option in the passing game with Chase down.
He’ll likely draw Steelers’ cornerback Joey Porter Jr. as the latter’s coverage assignment Saturday. That’ll be a fun matchup to watch. Higgins is a good route runner and is a physical receiver overall. It’ll be a good battle.
Along with Higgins, Tyler Boyd holds down the slot for the Bengals. He’s a tough customer, one who is a dependable weapon for the Bengals. He’ll make the tough catches over the middle and can create plays after the catch.
He’ll have a ton of attention entering Saturday’s game after his comments about the Steelers’ locker room earlier in the week, which drew the ire of Porter.
Joining Higgins and Boyd are Trenton Irwin and rookie Andrei Iosivas, who has played well in recent weeks but doesn’t have the numbers to show that. He’s continued building chemistry with Browning and is in line for a big opportunity on the road against the Steelers.
In the backfield, the Bengals have a real two-headed monster right now. Running back Joe Mixon has hit his stride as of late and given the Bengals a legitimate running game once again. He had a great performance against the Jaguars a few weeks ago and really is settling into a groove.
He remains dangerous in the screen game, too, which the Steelers found out late in the Week 12 game.
Rookie Chase Brown has emerged as a major weapon for the Bengals in the last month, too. This will be the Steelers’ first look at him. He’s a true home run threat every time he touches the football and he’s become a very nice complementary piece to Mixon.
The Bengals want to get him in space and on the edge and let that speed go to work. They’ve done a nice job of that in recent weeks.
Cincinnati’s tight ends group is solid if unspectacular. It’s a room with JAGs (just a guy), and I don’t mean that disrespectfully. Mitchell Wilcox, Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson and Irv Smith Jr. are all fundamentally sound players who know their roles well and take advantage of the opportunity when it presents itself.
Sample scored against the Steelers earlier in the season, while Wilcox is coming on strong in recent weeks.
Up front, the Bengals’ offensive line continues to settle in nicely. It has given up some pressures and sacks of Browning (six sacks in the last three games, 10 in the last four), but for the most part the group is playing well in the run game, helping provide balance to the Bengals’ attack.
Here’s how I expect them to line up left to right on Saturday:
LT — Orlando Brown Jr.
LG — Cordell Volson
C — Ted Karras
RG — Alex Cappa
RT — Jonah Williams
No changes from the last matchup, so what you see is what you get.
Volson is the guy who has really improved in the last month. He’s had a rough go of things at times in his second season, but he’s really played well in the last three weeks. He has a chance to make a statement against the Steelers, a team he’s struggled with in the NFL, specifically Cameron Heyward.
On special teams, the Bengals remain very good.
Kicker Evan McPherson has two game-winning field goals in the last three weeks, both in overtime. He has a monster leg and is very accurate overall. December in Acrisure Stadium is quite the challenge though. He has missed five kicks though this season — all from 50-plus yards.
Rookie punter Brad Robbins is having a strong season for the Bengals. He’s averaging 44 yards per punt and has 16 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Rather consistent.
Trayveon Williams is the guy for the Bengals on kick returns. He is an explosive runner and has a 46-yard return as his long on the season. He had a long one against the Steelers in the last matchup, too.
Rookie receiver Charlie Jones handles the punt returns. He already has a touchdown on a punt return this season and is fully healthy after missing some time earlier in the season with an injury.
