Bengals Breakdown: Stopping Lamar Jackson and the Ravens' Offense
The Bengals are a 13-point underdog this week against the Ravens. This is going to be a tough matchup for Cincinnati's remade defense.
Baltimore ranks eighth in total team offense largely due to the success of their running game. The Ravens are third in the league in rushing offense with 643 yards. They're averaging 5.4 yards-per-carry and 160.8 rushing yards per contest, which is second and third in the league, respectively.
Jackson, at quarterback, leads the team in rushing with 235 yards. He averages 9.8 rush attempts per game and six yards-per-carry.
Jackson missed practice Wednesday and Thursday this week with a sore knee and illness, but returned to practice on Friday. He's officially questionable for Sunday's game, but he will play.
"He was 100%. He was good," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said Friday. "His knee just didn’t feel … It just felt sore. He just felt like he needed to try to rest it a little bit. Between him and [offensive coordinator] Coach [Greg] Roman and [quarterbacks coach] Coach [James] Urban and [head certified athletic trainer] Ron Medlin, our trainer, we just felt that was the best course.
"Then Thursday, he was ready to go, but he got sick. His stomach was really bothering him, so he had to go home. I don’t know if he ate something bad or what it was, but we all get something like that periodically. So, that’s what that was. It was just kind of strange timing on that whole deal, but that’s what happened. So, he’s good to go.”
Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, and J.K. Dobbins make up a talented Baltimore running back group. The snap count between each back is distributed almost evenly for each to get time in about a third of the offensive plays. The rookie Dobbins has seen most of the offensive snaps between the trio with 37.13%, Ingram at 33.76%, and Edwards with 29.54%.
Each have contributed to have an impact for the Ravens’ offense. Edwards leads the group with 167 rushing yards on 27 attempts. Ingram is second with 148 yards and Dobbins is third with 92 rushing yards.
Dobbins' snap count could continue to rise as he poses as a dual-threat running back with his receiving abilities. He's caught six-of-seven targets for 52 yards and two scores.
Cincinnati will have to switch gears from stopping a run game with a dominant back in Jacksonville’s James Robinson last week to containing an offense with four options in the run game.
After a rough start to the season, the Bengals’ defense needs to carry the momentum from their defensive performance against Jacksonville last week. They held the Jaguars to 89 rushing yards.
Help is on the way for the struggling run defense too. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced Friday that Geno Atkins is expected to play. It'll be his 2020 season debut after dealing with a shoulder injury suffered in training camp.
"He's done a great job working back into practices," Taylor said on Friday. "He's an outstanding player for us. He's been playing in this division for a long time. It's great to get that piece back in there."
Atkins will play with big-time free agent acquisition DJ Reader, who's been the Bengals' only playmaker on the interior of the defensive line so far this season.
Atkins will start alongside Reader. Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson will be the other two starting defensive linemen on Sunday. Two-time Pro Bowler Carlos Dunlap won't start, but he will see his fair share of snaps on passing downs.
If Atkins, Reader, and the rest of the defensive line can control the line, then it will limit the Ravens' ability to run the ball. Baltimore's rushing attack, read-option, and play-action fakes fuel their offense.
Baltimore has called 34 read-option plays—21 rushes for 153 yards and 13 passes for 99 yards. They have called 32 play-action plays for 254 yards.
The Bengals’ defense needs to force Jackson to throw, specifically to the boundary. He is 67-of-98 for 769 yards and seven touchdowns. He's had some accuracy issues, despite the high completion percentage—15.8% of his pass attempts have been considered poor throws.
“I see it as a work in progress. I’m getting better every week—not just myself, but my team," Jackson said when asked about his deep ball. "And no, I’m not happy, because those passes; I would like to connect with my guys on those passes. I feel like it’s a lot of yards and touchdowns we’ve been leaving on the field when we don’t connect."
Last season Jackson had 676 total yards and five touchdowns in two matchups against the Bengals. He owned the Cincinnati defense as Baltimore won the two games by a combined score of 72-30.
Containing Jackson and their run defense will be a huge factor in the Bengals’ quest to pick up their second win on the season.
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