Film Room: Red Zone

In the Zone.

Despite an impressive offensive performance in the Cincinnati Bengals Week 3 loss to Washington, there was some rumbling about the two trips to the red zone that did not lead to touchdowns for the Bengals.

That was not a problem this week, as the Bengals went 3/3 in the red zone. Here is a look at those scoring plays.

Third and a long three to go. Who would have guessed they’d run the ball here?

Sending tight end Erick All in a quick motion to block the backside edge, the Joe Burrow hands the ball to Chase Brown, who cuts in between Alex Cappa and Ted Karras to score on the zone run.

What’s most remarkable about this play is that they had enough confidence in their rushing attack to run the ball in that situation. This is a new style of offense for the Bengals and I am here for it.

While they did pass on this third down, it was a swing to running back Zack Moss with time in the second half about to retire. A butt-block by Mike Gesicki and an actual block by Tee Higgins set him up well, but Miss still had one man to beat.

With a cutback so drastic that he lost his footing, Moss juked and stumbled his way into the end zone for the score.

Brown struck again later in the game. This time it was a run yard run on a duo play. Brown bounced the ball outside of Ja’Marr Chase’s edge block and bulldozed over the final defender for the one-yard score.

We all know about Brown’s speed, but his power is wildly underrated. He gets this score because he lowers his shoulder and keeps his feet moving.

Let’s go back to the beginning. The Panthers got the ball and drove straight down the field. For all the bad things you can say about this defense, they will fight for that last yard.

On fourth and one, the Panthers handed off the ball. The defense filled its gaps nicely, but it was the rookie defensive tackle Kris Jenkins who drove his man back into the play and got off the ball to make the tackle.

This was a phenomenal play by a sorely needed reinforcement on the defensive interior.

It was the Bengals’ only red-zone stop, but it made a big difference, giving them the opportunity to play from the front.