An area that must improve.
While much of the blame for the Cincinnati Bengals’ Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots has been placed on Joe Burrow and the offense’s struggles, an issue from 2023 on the defensive side of the ball once again reared its ugly head.
Last season, the Bengals struggled to stop opposing running backs after contact, largely due to an onslaught of missed tackles throughout the year. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo even stated that the team “faced 30 more runs in three fewer games and gave up nearly 300 yards after first contact” when speaking to reports at the NFL Combine.
“A lot of it was the second half of the play, where we kind of just lost,” Anarumo said via Bengals.com. “So you’re talking about almost three more games of rushing yards, just on a missed tackle or we hit the guy and he falls forward for three, four or five. Too many of those things last year. They’re all fixable for sure. I think there are a lot of elements to it. And we got our arms wrapped around it to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Unfortunately, the issue Anarumo called out in February carried into Week 1 of the 2024 season.
Per Pro Football Focus data, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson gained 118 of his 120 rushing yards against the Bengals after contact, while backup running back Antonio Gibson picked up 20 yards after contact.
And according to Anarumo, the Bengals missed 14 tackles Sunday, the most they’ve ever missed in the six years he’s been coaching in Cincinnati.
Some notes from DC Lou Anarumo
-14 missed tackles last week were a six-year high. “Things we talked about all last year beat us again. I’ve got to do better. We’ve emphasized it.”
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) September 11, 2024
Next up for the Bengals defense, one of the NFL’s elite running backs after contact: Isiah Pacheco of the Kansas City Chiefs.
