Rookie feasts on Cleveland defense
— It was a poor CINCINNATI choice of words, but it didn’t cause a stir or even a second thought like it once would have.
“You know what was real nice though?” Dave Lapham, the former Cincinnati Bengals lineman and now the radio color commentator, asked Joe Mixon in his on-the-air postgame interview.
“A lot (of what you did) was right between the tackles, nothing fancy. Just hit ’em right in the mouth.”
The Cincinnati Bengals rookie running back smiled and nodded in agreement. He had just had his greatest day as a pro, running for 114 yards and an 11-yard touchdown on 23 carries while catching three passes for 51 yards in a 30-16 victory over Cleveland at Paul Brown Stadium.
He became the Bengals’ first 100-yard rusher this season and in the locker room afterward no one was talking about the past.
Not about what happened that July evening in Norman, Oklahoma three years ago or what happened after the Bengals played the Pittsburgh Steelers last month at Heinz Field. Late Sunday afternoon the focus was on what had just transpired
with the Browns and how it might foretell Mixon’s future.
“He’s an extremely talented guy,” Bengals center Russell Bodine said. “He has a chance to be really special in the league.”
A few years ago a lot of folks were thinking that was a possibility when Mixon came out of California as a schoolboy sensation and was about to take up residence in the Oklahoma Sooners’ backfield.
Then, just before his freshman season, came the ugly, much-publicized incident with a woman in a Norman café. He had made a homophobic slur to her friend, then followed her into the restaurant. They exchanged words, she pushed him, he lunged at her, she slapped him and then he hit her in the face. She fell. Her face hit a table and she ended up with a broken jaw that was later wired shut after surgery.
He eventually pleaded to a reduced charge, did community service and was suspended from the team for the entire 2014 season. It took a couple of years, but the police video was eventually released, and seeing the brutality of the moment caused another uproar.
The woman filed suit and she and Mixon settled privately after he made a public apology.
He went on to play and star for the Sooners, but after another argument with a parking lot attendant got him suspended for a game, some NFL teams treated him like he was radioactive. He wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine and fell out of the first round in the 2017 draft.
The Bengals, who met with him privately before the draft, took him in the second round and there were no ripples until after the Steelers romped over them this season and Mixon groused to the media about not getting any carries in the second half.
That drew the ire of coach Marvin Lewis, who said the rookie “should show maturity.” And by everyone’s account in the Bengals locker room Sunday, that’s just what Mixon has done.
Cincinnati came into the game ranked last in the NFL in rushing yards and yards per carry. Mixon was averaging just 2.9 yards a carry and his biggest output had been 62 yards at Green Bay.
But instead of pouting, he has been meeting with his offensive linemen to talk about their job and what he needs to do on the field.
They had another meeting last Friday and two days later it paid dividends like never before.
“I’ve learned you just have to trust each other and just keep believing in the process,” Mixon said.
He also has come to understand it’s about more than just him. That showed as he made several key blocks on blitzing Browns defenders Sunday.
“We’ve got a $96 million quarterback to protect,” he laughed. “I got to do my part.”
Left guard Clint Boling said you can see Mixon grow each week: “The past couple of weeks he’s done a good job staying with his blocks and running north and south. He’s not always trying to do something extra and taking minus yards. So now he gets those three and four yard gains and every once in a while something pops.”
Most impressive Sunday was Mixon’s effort once he was hit. Pro Football Focus tracked his runs against the Browns and found he averaged an additional 2.83 yards a carry after contact.
“He did some tremendous things today,” right tackle Andre Smith said. “I happened to get behind him on some of those longer runs and to see him run hard and lower those pads was impressive. I’m excited to block for him.”
The 21-year-old Mixon feels the same about his linemen and afterward his youthful exuberance bubbled over into a promise:
“If I can get the linemen together, I want to take them out to get something to eat.”
Like where?
“We can go to Ruth Chris, or wherever they want.”
“That’s a high-end steak house,” someone said, “and those lineman can eat.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said a little less forcefully. “Ruth Chris ... the Cheesecake Factory. They deserve it.”
He was asked if he was backtracking: “Maybe it will end up Waffle House.” He shook his head: “It ain’t gonna be Waffle House, I can promise you that.”
Across the dressing room Bodine liked the sound of that. Like everyone else on this day, when it came to Joe Mixon, he was thinking about the future.
“I’m all for dinner. Where we going?”