The Bengals’ offensive line keeps pushing itself into the conversation as one of the league’s better units, and the numbers from the Week 6 bye back that up. Cincinnati sits 13th in Pro Football Focus’s latest weekly offensive line ranking, a one-spot rise from the previous week.
That climb comes with continuity doing plenty of the heavy lifting. Four of Cincinnati’s five starters up front have PFF pass-blocking grades above 60.0, and the lowest mark among them belongs to Ted Karras at 59.2. Right guard Dalton Risner has been a bright spot in the run game, too, checking in third among right guards with an 80.7 PFF run-blocking grade, according to Gordon McGuinness.
The bigger picture is even stronger in pass protection. Cincinnati is sixth in the NFL in PFF pass-blocking grade at 70.8, even if the run game profile is less impressive, sitting 17th with a 62.7 grade. Pro Football Network has the Bengals’ line 12th overall in its impact rankings, another sign that this group has moved into a more reliable tier.
That’s been the long-running goal around Joe Burrow: give him a line that can hold up. So far, the Bengals are making real progress there.
Head coach Zac Taylor said Monday that there’s still room to sharpen things up, but he also made it clear this isn’t a unit trying to patch over major problems.
"There's a lot of moments where all the units played really well and did some really good things to build on," Taylor said on Monday. "And so coming out of Week 5, I think we recognize some things that we're doing really well, and then there's a couple of things that are really easy to clean up, real easy.
So the good news is it's not a concern that Oh man, this is unfixable. We got a real problem here on this part of a scheme or a player, and we don't feel that at all.
It's just a couple of things that we gotta get cleaned up going into the next division game."
The pressure numbers tell the same story. Cincinnati has allowed one of the five lowest pressure rates in the league this season at 20.6%, putting the Bengals behind the Buccaneers, Chiefs and Falcons, and just ahead of the Vikings.
In Other News...
Bengals Face A Risky Shemar Stewart Decision Fans Will Debate
Injury issues in the secondary have left the Bengals with a real need to keep exploring options, and that is why a trade concept involving defensive end Shemar Stewart has surfaced. The idea would bring back slot cornerback Dru Phillips and future draft compensation, giving Cincinnati a potential answer to a thin defensive backfield while also asking the front office to weigh short-term help against a player still early in his career.
It is the kind of move that would spark plenty of debate around the Bengals because Stewart remains the sort of young piece teams usually prefer to keep building around. The proposal makes clear how much a cornerback need can change the conversation, but it also acknowledges the obvious hurdle: Cincinnati is not expected to move on from Stewart this early, and there has been no confirmed trade. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Fans Have Real Draft Reasons To Watch Ohio State-Indiana
Ohio State and Indiana may be meeting for reasons that go far beyond the Big Ten standings for Bengals fans who have already started thinking about next spring. The game offers a useful look at a cluster of draft-eligible prospects who could line up with Cincinnatis roster needs, and the Bengals recent draft history only adds to the appeal as they continue sorting through where help might be needed.
Among the names worth tracking are Austin Siereveld, Amare Ferrell and Jermaine Mathews, each of whom could draw Bengals attention for different reasons. Sierevelds versatility makes him a logical offensive-line watch, while the secondary picture could be just as relevant depending on how Cincinnati navigates several looming decisions there, making this one of those college matchups that feels a little more important in Cincinnati than it might elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Bryan Cooks Bengals Role Just Got Even More Emotional
Bryan Cooks arrival in Cincinnati already carried a local angle, but the timing only adds to it. The Bengals are trying to stabilize a defense that has been hit by injuries, and an early bye week gives the staff a little breathing room as it sorts through the next stretch of the schedule. For a safety viewed as a key piece on that side of the ball, the setting is about more than just fit on the field. It is also about stepping into a room that needs help and doing it in front of the people who know his background best.
Cooks role comes against the backdrop of a Bengals season still taking shape, with the early returns from the draft class under the microscope and a matchup with the Tennessee Titans coming up soon. Around the league, roster movement is happening everywhere, but Cincinnatis interest is more immediate: how quickly the defense can get healthy, how the younger additions hold up, and how much Cook can matter once the games get tighter. [Read more 🡒]