Before Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither suffered a season-ending foot injury, he spoke about how he always looked forward to facing the Baltimore Ravens.
For Davis-Gaither, the Bengals 2020 fourth round pick, the Ravens games weren’t just an opportunity for a division win. Davis-Gaither was the first linebacker off the bench for the Bengals, and the Ravens games have typically been the only ones all season where Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo uses three linebackers in the starting lineup.
Since 2020, Davis-Gaither played his most snaps against the Ravens because of that unique three-linebacker game plan. In Week 7, Anarumo’s Ravens-specific scheme led to a 41-17 win for the Bengals.
When the Bengals face the Ravens on Sunday with the AFC North on the line, Anarumo might not be able to go back to what worked earlier this season. The Bengals are running out of healthy linebackers.
“The rosters have certainly changed for both teams,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “You have to factor that in.”
When the Bengals faced the Ravens in October, the Bengals started Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt and Davis-Gaither in their 4-3 defense. Wilson and Davis-Gaither will both miss Sunday’s game. Linebacker Joe Bachie replaced Wilson, but Bachie tore his ACL against the Denver Broncos and will miss the rest of the season.
The Bengals currently have four healthy linebackers on the 53-man roster: Pratt, Markus Bailey, Clay Johnston and Keandre Jones. They also have two linebackers on the practice squad, Austin Calitro and Tegray Scales. Johnston, Jones, Calitro and Scales have combined for one total defensive snap with the Bengals all season.
Against the Ravens, Pratt and Bailey will likely start. As for the third linebacker spot, the Bengals have two options. The Bengals will either have to go away from the 4-3 defense that worked perfectly in Week 7, or they can play a linebacker who has never had a meaningful role on the Bengals defense and has extremely limited NFL experience.
“We have confidence in the guys we will play with,” Anarumo said. “We will certainly have to do some things differently just because it’s the second time around, but we will handle it accordingly. We have a ton of faith in the guys that will go out there and play it for us.”
The defense the Bengals created for the Ravens matchup in Week 7 worked so well that other teams have used it against the Ravens since that game. In addition to the 4-3 setup on early downs, Anarumo kept an extra cornerback or safety close to the line of scrimmage. It looked like a 4-4 defense at times, and the Bengals run-stopping focus held the Ravens running backs to 29 total rushing yards.
"I think it was a great example of our discipline and execution at all three levels,” Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “We're going to be down some guys and some guys are going to have to step up, but it really was a confidence boost to (beat the Ravens the first time).”
Two weeks after the Bengals played the Ravens, the Miami Dolphins took the Bengals game plan to an extreme versus the Ravens. In the Dolphins upset 22-10 win over Baltimore, Miami used the same style of defense on 40 snaps. For most of the game, the Dolphins limited Jackson by having seven or eight defenders line up at the line of scrimmage and using that setup to disguise blitzes and coverage.
The Cleveland Browns used a similar style of defense, and the Ravens weren’t able to counter. Facing this style of defense led to the Ravens scoring 20-or-fewer points in four straight games.
With so many defenders near the line of scrimmage, the Ravens struggled running the ball. And with Baltimore’s offensive line dealing with injuries, the Ravens couldn’t buy Jackson enough time to allow receivers to get open down the field.
“The formula is never going to change, this is a run-built offense first,” Anarumo said. “We have to start with that, hit them with that and when we do, force them to pass."
Anarumo still has the personnel for the third down packages he successfully tried in Baltimore. Safety Ricardo Allen and cornerback Tre Flowers were big pieces in the Week 7 game plan, and the Bengals still have most of their depth in the secondary and on the defensive line.
The big question is how the Bengals will approach early downs and how the Bengals can stop the run. Do they give playing time to a linebacker who hasn’t played meaningful football this season, or will Anarumo try something completely different?
"We’ve got some guys at that position that’ll hold down the fort for us," Taylor said.
GOOD REVIEWS: The Bengals called up wide receiver Trent Taylor from the practice squad to return punts against the Denver Broncos. Taylor caught all of his returns and averaged 7.3 yards.
“He has been patient over the course of the season doing everything we've asked him to do on the practice squad,” Zac Taylor said. “He puts in the work. Guys have a lot of respect for him.”
NEW STARTER: With Bachie out, Taylor confirmed that linebacker Markus Bailey would step into a permanent starting role. Bailey, the Bengals 2020 seventh round pick, has appeared off the bench in 13 games this season.
“He has had his role for us at times over the course of the year, even when we were healthy with some other guys,” Taylor said. Markus has always stayed ready. He’s a guy who’s kind of a film junkie.”
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