Bengals: yards and points
The Bengals allowed 544 yards to Houston on Sunday.
They allowed a 150+ yard rusher/170+ yard receiver in the same for the first time in history.
Lou Anarumo’s longtime mantra has been yards don't equal points. Scoreboard matters most.
But Sunday those yards produced 30 points.
‘Bend, don’t break’ is reliant on getting turnovers and making red zone holds/stops,
and the Bengals have been really good getting both. But that doesn’t always happen.
When it doesn’t happen it means points.
The Bengals are tied for the NFL lead with 18 takeaways: 12 INT, 6 fumbles recovered.
Tied for NFL lead +/- turnover margin: +10
They lead the NFL in interception rate
They have allowed 0 points seven times in the red zone
And yes, they went through a three game stretch allowing just 13-17-18 to the Seahawks, 49ers and Bills.
But man, relying on fumbles and interceptions is a tough ask and a dangerous way to live.
Especially counting on them in the red zone. We’ve also seen it lead to extra yardage allowed when players have gone for a strip over a wrap-up tackle. Sunday’s final drive by the Texans being the latest example.
The yards the Bengals are allowing is staggering.
Bengals defensive rank
Yards per game: 30th
Yards per play: 31st (6.08)
Rushing yards per game: 30th
Rushing yards per carry: 31st (5.05)
Passing yards per game: 25th
Passing yards per pass: 30th (7.38)
1st downs per game: 29th
Points: 21.3 (16th)
NFL average points per game: 21.8
The offense has to be better, but this defense has to be better than league average..
Picks and strips are awesome. But mixing in punts and three and outs are certainly good things.