Bengals’ Running Game Looks Playoff Ready

When the smoke cleared at Paul Brown Stadium Sunday afternoon, the Bengals had won their twelfth game of the season. It was a hard-fought battle that didn’t get going offensively until the second half. AJ McCarron was ready, but the adrenaline had his passes sailing over the heads of intended receivers. So what was next? The Bengals introduced an old friend. They used the running game.

For most of the year, the Bengals were content to use the arm of Andy Dalton to get the yardage and wins. Riding Dalton’s rifle, the Bengals were able to sprint out to an 8-0 start and become the darlings of the league. But in Week 14, Dalton fractured his thumb in a game against the Steelers. Suddenly, the Bengals would have to rediscover the talents of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard.

Against the San Francisco 49ers, the game plan was to get the running game going and give second-year signal-caller AJ McCarron some time to settle into the offense. On paper, the plan was sound. Against a fired-up Niners defense, the decision looked like a disaster. Per stats from Fox Sports, the Bengals were held to 68 yards rushing. The 1.9 yards per carry was shocking. The league average hovers around 3.5 yards.

The Niners were daring the Bengals to pass, with backup quarterback AJ McCarron. They sold out for the run and were standing on their heads to prove their defensive worth. But the Bengals had something to be concerned about. The previous week, the Bengals had managed even fewer yards against the Steelers. Numbers found at NFL Network show that the average per carry was better, but the total was still unacceptable. The playoffs were lurking around the corner.

Against the Denver Broncos, the Bengals were able to hit the mark with 108 yards rushing. But most of that damage came in the first half, before Ryan Hewitt left with a knee sprain. The running game had to get better for obvious reasons.

“I think you have to set your jaw at some point in time,” offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said. “But it all depends on the flow of the game. The fun part of our group is we can play a lot of different ways, and that’s what makes the versatility that we have on our team really good.”

The Bengals were able to set their jaw against the Ravens. With one of their better performances of the season, Cincinnati rushed the ball 27 times for 145 yards on the ground. The O-line was firing off and the timing seemed to be back.

Jeremy Hill had his longest run of the season, when he scored a touchdown on a 38-yard rumble to the end zone. The play that helped him break free utilized Jake Fisher in place of the injured Hewitt. That was the plan in Denver. Hill rushed for 96 yards and looked like the rookie sensation of last year. Giovani Bernard — his backfield partner in crime — was able to pick up 60 yards running. The 5.4 yards per rush was more like the numbers associated with the Bengals run game.

“It’s weird for defenders,” Hill said. “You have a 300-pound man running at you full speed. You have to have contain. Gap integrity. That can be a little tricky. I don’t know if they got that look in practice this week. I’m pretty sure they didn’t.”

It was all accomplished against a Ravens defense seventh in the NFL, allowing 3.9 yards per rush. The Bengals’ 145 yards were the third most against Baltimore this season, and the most the Ravens have allowed since Arizona put up 150 on them back in Week 7. The Bengals running game wasn’t an anemic mess. At this point, it looks playoff ready.

[Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images]