The Bengals’ new-look defensive front is already giving opposing offenses a familiar headache: Dexter Lawrence is eating so much attention that everybody else should be living in one-on-one matchups. That, at least, is the theory behind Cincinnati’s pass-rush makeover. The run defense still needs work, but on obvious passing downs the plan is taking shape.
Lawrence has been exactly what Cincinnati hoped for when it traded for him this offseason. He’s the center of gravity, the guy offenses have to account for with double teams and protection calls. Jonathan Allen draws the same kind of treatment, and that leaves the rest of the line with cleaner shots at quarterbacks.
So far, that’s been the setup. The next step is turning those chances into more production.
Lawrence and Allen lead the Bengals with pressures, with nine and ten respectively, according to Pro Football Reference. Boye Mafe and Cashius Howell are next with eight, and Myles Murphy follows with seven.
The numbers say the opportunities are there. The question is who’s cashing in.
Howell is the most intriguing case. The rookie edge rusher has brought exactly the kind of energy Cincinnati needed at the position, but the ceiling is still higher.
He is being blocked one-on-one at the second-highest rate in the NFL, behind only Cam Thomas of the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas is winning those individual battles at a clip above 80%, while Howell is below the 49.0% average.
That matters because Howell is seeing more single-blocker chances than Murphy and Mafe among the Bengals’ top three edge rushers. If he starts winning more of those matchups, the sacks should follow more often - the same kind of pressure-to-sack conversion he showed at Texas A&M.
There’s even a case to be made that Howell should be getting more run at Murphy’s expense. One evaluation circulating this week put it plainly: “Give Cashius Howell some of Myles Murphy’s snaps.”
Murphy, though, is the one who feels the pressure most directly. He’s in the final year of his deal after the Bengals declined his fifth-year option in the offseason, which gives him a real chance to change the conversation.
But through five games, he has only 1.5 sacks, five tackles and seven pressures, according to Pro Football Reference. On pace for five sacks, he’d fall short of the 5.5 he led the club with last season.
He’s also getting his share of one-on-one chances. Through Week 5, Murphy has the fourth-most single-blocker opportunities among defensive linemen, behind Thomas, Howell and Jacob Martin.
His grade in those situations has been below average. Maybe that’s a sign that Lawrence, Allen and Mafe are drawing too much focus.
Maybe it’s a sign offenses aren’t worried enough about the veteran edge rusher. Either way, Murphy has to avoid disappearing in the shuffle.
Mafe has done the opposite. He’s been one of Cincinnati’s best players in one-on-one situations, grading out just behind Lawrence and ahead of Allen.
After arriving from Seattle as a rotational player, he’s now thriving as a full-time starter. He already has three sacks through five games this season, topping his two sacks from 2025.
That’s also more than Trey Hendrickson’s two sacks this year.
And if Mafe keeps playing like this, offenses may eventually start treating him like a problem too. That would only open the door wider for Murphy and Howell.
For now, the Bengals have something they haven’t had in a while: a defensive player drawing that much constant attention. If the rest of the edge group takes advantage, this front can start looking dangerous in a hurry. The bye week gave defensive coordinator Al Golden time to tinker, and the hope is that the next wave of rushers around Lawrence can turn those one-on-one chances into something bigger.
Some of them need to move fast. Others have a little more time. But the opportunity is right there.
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Trey Hendrickson Is Giving Bengals Fans A Revenge Game To Worry About
Sunday brings an uncomfortable bit of familiarity for Bengals fans, with Trey Hendrickson set to see Cincinnati for the first time since joining the Ravens. The pass rusher has been working his way back after a stint on the sideline and showed signs of life with a sack against the Browns, enough to remind everyone that even if the early returns in Baltimore have been uneven, he can still change a game in a hurry.
For Cincinnati, the story is less about nostalgia than the practical headache of facing a player who knows the organization well and now arrives with fresh motivation in a division matchup. Hendricksons first game against his former team would already carry plenty of emotion, but the bigger concern for the Bengals is simple: if Baltimore finds ways to free him up off the edge, this could become one of those revenge-game plotlines that lands harder than expected. [Read more 🡒]