Prior to the 2021 NFL season, sadly, the best Cincinnati Bengals-related playoff moment of the past three decades was probably when a dramatic and meaningless-to-them Week 17 win over the Ravens helped the Buffalo Bills snap their long playoff drought four seasons ago.
Four years is an eternity in pro football and with the current edition of the Bengals about to play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI, the doldrums of seasons past feel like they’re in the rear-view mirror and getting smaller.
The Marvin Lewis era in Cincinnati consisted of four division titles and seven playoff appearances, but not a single post-season victory. The team replaced Lewis after 16 seasons and hired first-time head coach Zac Taylor in 2019 after he spent the previous two seasons with the Rams.
Taylor was an assistant wide receivers coach in 2017 before the former Nebraska star quarterback was named L.A.’s QB coach in 2018. His work with then-Rams starter Jared Goff helped that team advance to the Super Bowl and Taylor’s work caught the attention of the Bengals and he was eventually hired.
Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo were brought in with Taylor in 2019. Callahan has helped groom Burrow and the other young offensive talents and Anarumo has his defence rolling right now – they held Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to just three second-half points in the AFC championship two weeks ago.
The Bengals had year-over-year production from Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Geno Atkins and others but those teams were never able to get over the hump and a streak of five straight playoff appearances without a win from 2011-15 amounted to growing frustration among the devout fan base.
THE BEST FANS IN FOOTBALL. pic.twitter.com/GDvMqWy4ad
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) February 8, 2022
Multiple sub-.500 seasons followed but the front office has done an admirable job replenishing the roster on both sides of the ball via the draft with selections such as: Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon, Jesse Bates, Sam Hubbard, Jonah Williams, Logan Wilson, Tee Higgins, Evan McPherson and Ja’Marr Chase, all of whom play key roles in Sunday’s game.
Dalton was a holdover in Taylor’s first year as bench boss but the team finished a league-worst 2-14 in 2019. Turns out that was a blessing in disguise because management used the first-overall pick in 2020 to select Joe Burrow, who was named Comeback Player of the Year in his second season after tearing his ACL midway through his rookie campaign. Burrow is the first QB taken with the No. 1 pick to make a Super Bowl within his first two years in the league.
THE STORY OF THE SEASON: HOW THE BENGALS REACHED SUPER BOWL LVI
Remember back to the summer when the Bengals were being lumped in with the Jaguars, Lions, Texans and Jets? The consensus among fans and pundits was the team was more likely to get another top-five pick in the draft than be in the playoff hunt late in the season.
However, a dramatic Week 1 upset of the Vikings set the tone for their thrilling season and showed a glimpse of what was to come. Burrow proved he could still take a hit to make a play in his first regular-season game following knee surgery, the defence bent but didn’t break when the game was on the line, and rookie kicker Evan McPherson passed his first test of mettle by nailing a 33-yarder on the final play of overtime.
Much was made of the team drafting Burrow’s former college teammate with the fifth-overall pick. Adding another receiver, even one like Chase, instead of selecting a potential franchise left tackle like Penei Sewell or Rashawn Slater had many scratching their heads. The head-scratching quickly ended as Chase immediately established himself as a serious offensive weapon at the pro level.
The Bengals had an up-and-down season overall and were never below .500 at any point but also didn’t have a three-game winning streak until that incredible Week 17 slugfest against the Chiefs – another game in which Burrow and Chase shellacked any and all opposing DBs and McPherson hit another walk-off game-winner.
Cincy has seemingly gotten past those earlier-to-mid-season inconsistencies, though, winning six of their past seven outings with the lone loss being that meaningless Week 18 meeting with the Browns in the Battle of Ohio: Backups Edition.
The Bengals have kept the same formula in their three one-score playoff wins. They still allow too many sacks – nine against the Titans was embarrassing – yet Burrow keeps making clutch throws when pressed to do so. The Titans and Chiefs had decent success running the ball, however the defensive unit has only allowed one second-half TD so far in the playoffs.
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THREE KEYS TO VICTORY
1. Offensive schemes that can thwart the Rams’ D-line
It’s no secret the Bengals offensive line is severely outmatched on paper. Realistically, though, that o-line was outmatched on paper most weeks, yet the Bengals managed to win a division title and advance to the Super Bowl. They’ve overcome Maxx Crosby, Jeffery Simmons and Chris Jones in the playoffs thus far but Aaron Donald means an entirely different set of problems. The success of Donald, along with Leonard Floyd and Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller, will dictate how this game unfolds.
One way to quiet a furious pass rush if you can’t gain chunk yardage between the tackles is to scheme your way around it. Screen passes and getting rid of the ball quickly worked for the 49ers against the Rams late in the season and it’s how Tom Brady was able to frequently overcome daunting d-lines with relative ease throughout his career.
This could mean plenty of screens to Mixon and Samaje Perine plus busier nights for Tyler Boyd and C.J. Uzomah if his knee allows it. Boyd’s and Uzomah’s average depth of target was 7.7 and 4.3 yards, respectively, this season. Chase and Higgins, on the other hand, had 12.6 and 12.1 ADOT, respectively. If Burrow is forced to release the ball early or they draw up quick-release plays then Chase and Higgins may not have as quite many opportunities to stretch the field.
They can also employ a zero-back formation to throw off the Rams, something they do frequently anyways. Burrow holding onto the ball too long and forcing something won’t end well. The team’s ability to adapt on the fly will also help.
2. Contain the run to contain Stafford
Safeties Jesse Bates and Vonn Bell can cover plenty of ground in the secondary and it affords Cincy the opportunity to lay back, play zones often and force opposing QBs into mistakes. They might not be able to do that quite as often against the Rams as one of those safeties could be tasked with helping cover Cooper Kupp who has absolutely chewed up opposing teams, especially in the slot, all season.
The bigger issue, however, is if the field becomes tilted due to the Rams running backs. The Bengals were a top-five run-stopping unit during the regular season but both Tennessee and Kansas City were able to move the ball on the ground the past two weeks. Now that Darrell Henderson is joining Cam Akers and Sony Michel in the backfield, Cincinnati’s defensive coaches will be burning the midnight oil studying film.
If they don’t stop the run, they’ll be forced to bring more bodies closer to the line and into the box. The more crowded the box, the less crowded the secondary. The less crowded the secondary, the higher the chance Stafford burns you.
Cincinnati’s D has held up their end of the bargain to date.
3. “The chicken finger eating king of the world”
That’s how Uzomah described his team’s star rookie kicker to the media earlier this week and it’s just one more reason to be a fan of this kid. McPherson has been so dialled in lately it has given his teammates extra confidence late in games.
If the Bengals have any difficulty moving the ball against the Rams they may need to rely on their kicker keep them in the game. After all, McPherson has scored 40 of his team’s 72 playoff points. He hasn’t missed since Week 13 and is cool as a cucumber when the pressure’s on.
Will he get his Vinatieri moment on Sunday?
There's clutch kickers, and then there's Money McPherson @McPherson_Evan | @Bengals pic.twitter.com/kT8QuiRg0J
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) February 11, 2022
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