BALTIMORE –– In the first six games of the season, the Cincinnati Bengals defense used the same scheme, the same principles and the same approach. As the unit played as well as any defense in the NFL, the Bengals defense found an identity that worked.
And then on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals defense scrapped that game plan for a completely different one. The defense changed its base formation, tweaked its approach on third downs and borrowed a few concepts from the Ravens scheme.
It looked like a brand new defense. In a 41-17 win, the Bengals defense had its best game of the year and beat 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson for the first time in Jackson’s four-year NFL career.
“It’s the brilliance of (Bengals defensive coordinator) Lou (Anarumo),” Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson said. “You know he’s scheming things up and you know it’s our job to execute it. So, when guys step up and make plays, that’s what we want.”
The Bengals entered Week 7 with the fifth-best scoring defense in the NFL. A dynamic pass rush, a rising core of linebackers and a revamped secondary gave the Bengals their most productive defense of Anarumo’s three-year tenure with the team. But what works against 31 NFL quarterbacks might not work against Jackson.
Jackson, an MVP candidate again this season, poses a unique threat. He’s arguably the best scrambling quarterback in the NFL, and he’s also one of the best at throwing a deep pass on the run.
“You have to prepare differently for them,” Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “It’s so much that you just can't prepare for it in one week. They’re a divisional opponent. We had this game on our calendar for a long time.”
New starting lineup, new formations
During training camp, Anarumo ran some practices where he had the Bengals defense face the Ravens style of offense. The Bengals have used some similar defensive concepts in previous matchups against the Ravens, but Cincinnati allowed 65 points in two games against Baltimore last season.
As a result, Anarumo created a more aggressive game plan. The primary goals were stopping the run, keeping Jackson in the pocket and taking away the Ravens best two receiving threats in tight end Mark Andrews and wide receiver Marquise Brown.
With the Bengals typical base defense, a 4-2-5 front with two linebackers and five defensive backs, those goals can be harder to accomplish against a quarterback like Jackson.
On first and second downs, the Bengals brought back a 4-3 defense, which they’ve historically used against Jackson. This year, they were even more aggressive with it and kept a safety or a cornerback near the line of scrimmage. At times, it looked like the Bengals were in a 4-4 defense to clog up the middle of the field.
“We game-planned to stop the run,” Hendrickson said. “We knew that if we had that aspect of the game handled with our discipline and run fits that we’d make them one dimensional.”
The game of Akeem Davis-Gaither's career
To execute the three linebacker scheme on early downs, linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither made his first start of the season. Before Sunday, he had only played 35% of the Bengals defensive snaps. Then on Sunday, he had one of the most important roles on the defense.
On almost every play, Davis-Gaither waited in the middle of the field for Jackson or a Ravens running back to run with the ball toward the sideline. On running plays, Davis-Gaither’s responsibility appeared to be cutting off the first down line, and he finished the game with five tackles. On passing plays, Davis-Gaither dropped back in zone coverage and helped keep Andrews from having a breakout game.
Because of his combination of speed and pass coverage ability, Davis-Gaither had the best game of his career. The Ravens entered the game averaging 155 rushing yards per game, and the Bengals held them to 115 rushing yards.
“I can’t say enough about the back end with the linebackers covering to make way for us to capitalize,” Hendrickson said.
Adapting a new strategy on third downs
The other difference in the Bengals defense was how aggressive Anarumo's calls were on third downs. The defense mixed styles throughout the game, and each one was more effective.
In the first quarter, the Bengals gave cornerback Tre Flowers his first snaps with the team. Flowers always matched up one-on-one with Andrews, and Flowers didn’t allow a reception. After the first few drives, Anarumo gave Davis-Gaither and cornerback Mike Hilton more opportunity in pass coverage on third down.
With the Bengals secondary playing well, Anarumo dialed up his most aggressive blitzes of the year.
“I thought our defensive coaching staff came together with a great plan,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “Our guys executed it to a T.”
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Bengals pressured the quarterback on 48.9% of the Ravens passing attempts, and they sacked Jackson five times. The Bengals became a blitzing team in passing situations on Sunday, and Anarumo caught the Ravens off guard on a few of the biggest plays of the game.
With 8:22 left in the third quarter, the Bengals had a 20-17 lead, but the Ravens had the ball inside the Bengals’ 40-yard line. On second down, Anarumo put six players at the line of scrimmage, which is one of Ravens defensive coordinator Don Martindale’s signature strategies.
Bengals linebacker Markus Bailey (zero career sacks) blitzed Jackson, wasn’t blocked by the right tackle and forced Jackson to get rid of the ball.
Then on third down, Anarumo put seven players at the line of scrimmage. Anarumo blitzed all seven players, including safeties Ricardo Allen (one career sack) and Vonn Bell (eight career sacks).
Allen and Bell required one-on-one blocks, which gave Hendrickson the chance to sack Jackson. The sack ended the drive at the Bengals 41-yard line and put the Ravens outside field goal range.
The same thing happened early in the fourth quarter with the Bengals leading 27-17. On third down, Anarumo blitzed six players ––including Allen and Bell –– and Jackson threw the ball away. Then on fourth down, the Bengals blitzed five players and forced Jackson to throw the ball away again for a turnover on downs.
It was yet another chess move that worked. Jackson completed just 15 of his 31 passing attempts for 257 yards. Facing a quality of Bengals defense he hadn’t seen before, Jackson had his least efficient game of the year.
“This is special,” Hendrickson said. “We’re building something that’s special, and this is a stepping stone to where we want to go as a defense.”
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