The Bengals have opened the season looking like a real football team, not the sluggish group that stumbled into a 2-0 start last year. After a 20-6 win over the Houston Texans in Week 2, Cincinnati has earned plenty of confidence heading into a Week 3 trip to Pittsburgh. Still, there are a few spots on this roster that deserve a harder look.
Orlando Brown Jr. is one of them.
Joe Burrow jumped to Brown’s defense earlier this week after the left tackle gave up three first-half sacks against the Texans. Burrow said, "There were a couple sacks that weren’t in his control at the end of the day, there are a lot of different things that go into pass protection that aren’t just on the offensive line, and that’s what you don’t see in the media. There are very intricate details of pass protection, and a guy expecting help here, a guy expecting help from a different spot, and a lot of different things that go into it that we would never explain to you guys, and then it’s left up to interpretation."
That’s Burrow doing what Burrow does: standing up for his guys. But Brown still looked like he was left to handle Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter on his own more than a few times, and most of those reps did not go well.
The assignment doesn’t get any friendlier this week with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith on the other side.
Pittsburgh’s defense has also taken a noticeable step forward early this season. Even so, Cincinnati enters the game as a road favorite against the Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy nostalgia show.
On the other side of the trust ledger, Jonathan Allen is surging fast.
Allen has already posted two sacks, and if he stays healthy, there should be more coming. He dealt with a knee issue on the injury report this week and also got veteran rest days in practice, but Zac Taylor said Friday that Allen is ready to go in Pittsburgh.
When Allen signed a two-year, $25 million deal in free agency, it felt like a clear move to address the defensive tackle spot. Then the Bengals traded for Dexter Lawrence, and that only made the Allen addition look better. Lawrence has been a force multiplier for the whole defensive front, and that’s been obvious through two weeks.
Allen also pushed back on the idea that his release after one year of a three-year deal with the Vikings meant he was washed. In his interview with Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson, he explained why Cincinnati fits him better:
"It was one of those things [in Minnesota] where you had to play your role. [...]
The thing about our defense is, man, since they let us go so much, play free, that when we do drop, and we do blitz, it's very impactful. It's very impactful...
I love it. I'm a big fan of letting the D-line go.
Now that puts a lot of onus and pressure on us. Four-man rush, the coaches are trusting us to get there.
We've been getting there. So it's been fun.
It's been really fun."
As long as Lawrence keeps drawing attention - nearly 80% of the time through Week 2, by the source’s count - Allen should keep finding chances to make plays.
Barrett Carter remains a work in progress, even if he’s improved from where he was a season ago. Against the Texans, he was targeted six times in coverage and gave up five catches for 84 yards, while also drawing a holding penalty. That’s the kind of day that lands a linebacker on the wrong side of the trust index.
Demetrius Knight Jr. has earned more confidence at this point. He’s the more versatile, athletic, and better coverage player of the two, and he looks like the steadier option right now. Carter still wears the green dot, and Swayze Bozeman does not appear poised to take over the starting job, even if that would be the preferred move for some.
The bigger picture is simple enough: Cincinnati’s defense is strong enough that it can survive if the linebackers are merely average. But there’s also a nagging thought hanging over the roster - what if the Bengals had added a truly high-end option to replace Carter in the lineup? Someone like Bobby Wagner, or maybe a trade for Jordyn Brooks.
For now, though, the Bengals are in position to keep pushing. They’ve refused to settle for mediocrity, and that’s why the door is open.
In Other News...
Bengals Still Have One Awkward Flacco Question Hanging Over Them
Joe Flacco spent part of the week batting away a familiar kind of noise, this time tied to the New York Giants and the possibility of a move that would have thinned the Bengals' quarterback room. He said he has no reason to believe Cincinnati is looking to trade him, and for now he is operating exactly where the team has him, as the backup quarterback and a veteran option waiting in reserve.
Flacco also said trades can still surface out of nowhere, which is part of what keeps these rumors alive even when the player involved is trying not to entertain them. A few friends had fun with the idea of a reunion with Giants head coach John Harbaugh, but Flacco made clear those whispers are not grounded in anything real, leaving the Bengals with the quieter, more awkward question of how much longer this storyline lingers. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Enter Steelers Showdown With One Major Defensive Concern
The Bengals head into their matchup with the Steelers carrying more than the usual early-season injury unease, and the middle of their defense is the spot worth watching most closely. Defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and B.J. Hill have both missed multiple practices, with Allen's absence tied to load management and Hill's availability still unclear, leaving Cincinnati with some uncertainty right where Pittsburgh likes to lean on opponents.
Andrei Iosivas is also expected to land on injured reserve, which trims another option from the mix as the Bengals sort through their lineup for a game that already has a physical feel to it. On the other side, Pittsburgh has its own questions, with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. limited and possibly available, while Michael Pittman and Jaylen Warren were also limited as the Steelers wait for further evaluation heading into Sunday. [Read more 🡒]
JaMarr Chase Could Make Bengals History In Pittsburgh
JaMarr Chase is headed into Pittsburgh with another benchmark hanging in the balance, and it is the kind of milestone that says as much about his start as a pro as it does about what the Bengals have built around him. He is fewer than 80 yards from 7,000 for his career, a total that would underscore just how quickly he has become one of the leagues most productive receivers.
If Chase gets there in his 81st game, he would move into rare company and sit fourth all-time for fewest games needed to reach the mark, ahead of Jerry Rice and Randy Moss. For Cincinnati, it is one more reminder that every trip to the field with Chase carries history-watch potential, even before the bigger questions around the season or the matchup are fully sorted out. [Read more 🡒]