Short-handed Bengals rely on varied ‘D’ scheme
After the Cincinnati Bengals' 15-10 win over the Denver Broncos, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor gave a game ball to every defensive tackle on the active roster.
Not just defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who had two key sacks, four tackles and a tackle for loss. Not just defensive tackle D.J. Reader, who played a significant role in holding a dynamic Broncos backfield to 3.9 yards per carry.
Taylor also recognized the backups, Josh Tupou and B.J. Hill. It was a fitting gesture.
In a game where the Bengals defense was more short-handed than it had been all season, the Bengals held the Broncos to 10 total points, their thirdlowest mark of the season, and 292 total yards, their fourth-lowest mark of the season. They disguised coverages and used packages, and blitz concepts that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has rarely used all season.
Heading into the contest, the Bengals didn't have their best cornerback, Chidobe Awuzie, or linebacker, Logan Wilson. During the game, the Bengals lost another starting linebacker in Joe Bachie. Starting cornerback Trae Waynes was off the field for a few pivotal plays in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Markus Bailey was playing through a neck injury and wore a brace on the field.
With the Bengals playing at a high altitude, they used a more liberal defensive line rotation and gave more snaps to backups like Tupou, Khalid Kareem and Hill.
“It's just playing together (and) playing fast,” Ogunjobi said. “You've got guys flying around making plays in the backfield, getting sacks and just feeding off each other's energy. You never know when the play is coming and who the play is coming from, so we just play that kind of defense where everybody's up.”
Anarumo used different alignments all game, switching between their base 4-2-5 scheme and their defensive look with five defensive linemen, and Cincinnati used more post-snap motion than it had all season.
Even though the Bengals were incorporating new concepts with a defense that had hardly played together and lost a starting linebacker in Bachie during the game, the Bengals never folded.
“We talk about it a lot about these other defenses (across the NFL),” Taylor said. “But our guys step up and make the plays when they need to.”