Mixon’s play crucial to Bengals
Four days before the Cincinnati Bengals regular season started, head coach Zac Taylor was describing what the offense would look like in 2021. He stressed that running back Joe Mixon was among the top running backs in touches per game last season before his season-ending foot injury in Week 6.
True to Taylor's vision, through the first four weeks of the season, the Bengals have thrown the ball 107 times and run the ball 102 times, but with Mixon's status for the Bengals' Week 5 game against the Green Bay Packers in question due to his ankle injury, that balance could be in jeopardy.
“I think Mixon is one of the top backs in the league,” Taylor said. “We want to build a lot of things off the run. It keeps people at bay when you can run the ball as well as we have at times.”
Over the last two seasons, the Bengals offense has depended on whether or not Mixon was in the lineup. In four of the first six games of the 2020 season, when Mixon was in the mix, Burrow threw the ball fewer than 40 times.
This season, with Mixon in the lineup, the offense has been even more balanced. Burrow hasn't thrown the ball more than 32 times in a game over the first four weeks.
“(The run game) takes the pressure off the quarterback, takes the pressure off the offensive lineman, too, to the point they don't have to protect as much,” Taylor said. “We want to be a team that can play with the lead and be able to attack you in a lot of different ways on offense.”
If Mixon can't play, Samaje Perine and Chris Evans would likely split responsibilities at running back. Perine is a better downhill runner and is better in pass protection. Evans has been more effective running outside the tackles, and he's the better receiving threat out of the backfield.
Neither player has had a big role in the offense so far this season. Perine has only played 44 total snaps, and he has nine carries for 28 yards. Evans has only played nine offensive snaps and doesn't have a carry.