Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence has seen offensive linemen try all sorts of tricks to deal with him. What he saw Sunday in Pittsburgh, though, was new.
Steelers left guard Mason McCormick, on multiple plays, appeared to use a single-leg takedown-style move, grabbing Lawrence’s leg and lifting it off the ground.
“Other stuff used to happen, but not that one,” Lawrence said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s on the refs.
I don’t know if it’s legal. It’s more them seeing it and deeming it whatever they call it.
“You’ve got to try something to slow me down,” Lawrence added.
Lawrence said he asked the officials about it a couple of times during the game, and the tactic caught him off guard. His main concern, he said, was simply staying upright.
Even with that unusual attention from Pittsburgh, Lawrence still finished with his first two sacks as a Bengal and added a tackle for loss on a run play.
For now, he said, he’s leaving the question of legality to the team.
“I don’t think it’s on me,” he said. “I'm sure the team is taking care of all of that.
But me, I just gotta go out there and play. I can't think about that.”
The early numbers have been strong for Lawrence. His four tackles for loss are tied for seventh in the league, and teammate Jonathan Allen also has four. As a team, the Bengals have 16 tackles for loss, which is three off the league lead.
Cincinnati will face a Jacksonville Jaguars rushing attack that ranks No. 10 in the league at 119.3 yards per game on Sunday. The Bengals, meanwhile, are ninth against the run, allowing 95.7 yards per game.
Sunday’s matchup also brings a familiar face for Lawrence: Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, his college teammate.
It will be the second time Dexter has lined up against Trevor and Jacksonville. The first came in 2022, when Dexter and the Giants won 23-17.
Dexter didn’t get a sack in that game, but if he gets one this time, he said he may have a little something to say.
“Yeah, I might say something,” he said. “It's always fun to play against guys you played with in college.”
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