When Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow faced the Cleveland Browns for the first time in his rookie season, the Bengals had the ball in the middle of the third quarter with an 8-point deficit.
Burrow dropped back to pass, and Browns All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett broke through the line of scrimmage. Garrett forced a fumble inside the 10-yard line, and two plays later the Browns had a 28-13 lead.
Garrett, a two-time Pro Bowler in the conversation for the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Award, can change an opposing offense’s game plan as much as any defensive player in the NFL.
“When you face a pass rush like they have, you're always going into the game thinking about it,” Burrow said. “(I’m) understanding you've got to get the ball out of your hands quickly, got to affect them in certain ways. You're always thinking about a guy like that.”
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The problem for the Bengals is they don’t know where Garrett’s pressure is going to come from.
Even though he plays defensive end, Garrett is one of the best players in the NFL at rushing the quarterback from any spot on the defensive line. When he had a strip-sack fumble of Burrow last season, Garrett rolled through the right guard to break the pocket.
Garrett also spent a lot of that game going one-on-one with former Bengals right tackle Bobby Hart. Garrett identified the two biggest weaknesses in the Bengals offensive line last year, and he finished the game with three tackles and two quarterback hits.
In 2021, the Bengals have a new right guard, a new right tackle and a new offensive line coach.
“We’re very much aware of the problems (Garrett) brings,” Taylor said. “Our tackles are excited for the challenge and everybody involved in the process is excited.”
The Bengals haven’t faced a pass rusher as good as Garrett this season, and they also haven’t faced such a versatile pass rusher at different spots of the line of scrimmage. This year, a few different types of pass rushers have caused problems for the Bengals offensive line.
In Week 1, Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Michael Pierce won his matchup against Bengals center Trey Hopkins. In Week 2, Chicago Bears defensive end Robert Quinn took advantage of his matchups against the Bengals offensive tackles. In Week 7, New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams disrupted the Bengals game plan with his consistent pressure against the Bengals guards.
Depending on where the Browns have Garrett line up, they’ll show where they see the biggest weakness on the Bengals offensive line.
“We have to track him,” Taylor said. “He'll line up inside. He's been mostly on the left, but he'll line up on the right, he'll line up inside… That's just part of game planning. You have to prepare for where those guys are at and have good plans for that.”
Bengals injury Updates
After missing last week’s game with a hamstring injury, running back Chris Evans returned to the practice field on Wednesday. Wide receiver Auden Tate was out with a thigh injury against the Jets and was also back on the field with the team on Wednesday.
Defensive end Cam Sample missed practice with a knee injury, but Taylor said Sample could return on Thursday.
Better prepared for rushing attack
In the Bengals first game against the Browns last year, Cincinnati allowed 214 rushing yards. The Browns used their run game to control the game and ran out the clock in the fourth quarter.
Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson explained why the Bengals could have more success against the run this year.
“It just goes back to having guys in the same system and understanding what we’re trying to prevent and what we’re trying to do defensively,” Wilson said. “It starts up front and we’ve got great guys on the D-Line that are going to do their job and it trickles down on the back end.”
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