The Gio Factor: How Giovani Bernard Can Turn the Tide For the Bengals
The Bengals travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 8-0 Steelers on Sunday.
Pittsburgh was 14-point favorite last week in Dallas, but they showed their vulnerability. Despite leaving AT&T Stadium with a win, the Steelers had to score 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take down the Garrett Gilbert-led Cowboys.
Dallas exposed Pittsburgh in all three units of the game—offense, defense, and special teams. The biggest surprise was the way the Cowboys were able to move the ball against the Steelers' defense.
Gilbert finished 21-of-38 for 243 yards and a touchdown. He completed passes to eight different receivers. After giving up 265 yards on the ground to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8, the Steelers allowed Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard to run for 144 yards. Dallas averaged 4.6 yards per carry between Elliott and Pollard.
If the Bengals want to shock the football world and upset the undefeated Steelers, they will need to get their running game going.
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Giovani Bernard will make his third straight start at running back again as Joe Mixon continues to recover from a left foot injury he suffered in Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Mixon didn't suffer a setback, but he is out longer than they expected. The team could've placed him on injured reserve, but they were hoping he'd only miss one or two games.
"When you don't put them on IR, that's because you believe they're going to be back," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Friday. "We want to make sure that guys can play to their full potential when they're put out there, especially at the running back position. That's more on our end just being precautious so that when he does go, he's full speed, ready to go. Of course if you know anything about this guy, he wants to play more than anything, so sometimes you have to protect him from himself."
Bernard has stepped up with Mixon out. He has 99 rushing yards and one touchdown in the past two games, but his presence has largely been felt in the passing game both as a receiver and blocker.
He has for 75 receiving yards and two scores in the past two games.
Pittsburgh’s blitzing tendencies will force Burrow to throw the ball quickly. The Bengals will have to rely on slants, screens and dump-offs.
Bernard's effectiveness, both as a blocker and a pass-catcher, is critical to the Bengals' success.
In the absence of Mixon, Burrow has taken a majority of snaps in shotgun formation, favoring the passing game. Expect this to continue Sunday, but it will be imperative for the offense to keep a balanced attack with the run game like they did in their upset win over Tennessee.
The offensive line will need to get the push they found against the Titans to open running lanes for Bernard to create manageable distances on third downs by running between the tackles and not forcing the offense to go one-dimensional.
The Bengals will be without starting right tackle Bobby Hart for a second straight game. Fred Johnson could start at right tackle if the team takes him off of the COVID-19 reserve list on Saturday.
Jonah Williams is listed as “questionable” on Friday’s final injury report. He's expected to go after practicing all week.
The Bengals have a chance to snap their 10-game losing streak against the Steelers on Sunday.
A big game from Bernard would go a long way in making that happen.
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