The Bengals are off to a stunning 2-0 start. Stunning in the fact that it’s their defense leading the way.
I know it’s only been two weeks. But after multiple years of being an embarrassment on this side of the ball, the Bengals currently rank 8th in points allowed, 3rd in takeaways, 3rd in run defense, and they’re tied for the league-lead in sacks.
Their run defense was the catalyst for their success in Week 2 against the Texans. Houston called 14 runs for their backs, David Montgomery and Woody Marks. They gained just 18 total yards, and not one of those runs was longer than 4 yards.
That not only made the Texans offense one-dimensional, but Cincy’s early-down success against the run also put them in more advantageous situations on 3rd down.
12 of the Texans’ 17 third-downs were 3rd-and-longs (7 yards or more). 7 of those were 3rd-and-10 or more.
Houston converted just one 3rd-and-long and were 5-for-17 overall.
That’s your ballgame right there.
Let’s start with that run defense and the impact of Dexter Lawrence. He was an absolute menace inside on Sunday:
Watch him single-handedly snuff out this 4th-and-1 run:
It wasn’t just Lawrence, though. The entire D-line controlled the line of scrimmage: