Second-year receiver/blocker helping make this offense special
Say what you want about the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense, but the offense is just about as good as it gets.
Of course, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are a big reason for that. But the supporting cast is pretty good, too. And Andrei Iosivas is a big part of that.
For the first couple weeks of the season, Iosivas filled in admirably for an injured Higgins, recording five catches for 33 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Against Washington, in Higgins’ first game back, Iosivas recorded five receptions for 52 yards and scored a touchdown. Iosivas had become the red-zone threat the Bengals had been missing.
‘I think the red zone stuff was just kind of like an anomaly,” Iosivas said recently in an interview with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “Everybody loves to score touchdowns, but that just so happened to be what I did, I guess, at the beginning of my career. I’m versatile all over the field. I get open everywhere. So it’s just where ever the ball finds me.
In the last two weeks, with Higgins back at 100% (or as close thereto as possible), Iosivas’ role has been scaled back a little, but his contributions still stand out.
Against Carolina, in Cincinnati’s only win of the season, Iosivas had one reception for 29 yards. It came during the two-minute drill at the end of the first half, and Burrow found Iosivas open down the middle of the field. He took a big hit, but managed to hold on at the Panthers’ 21-yard line. Cincinnati turned the effort into a touchdown, and scored again on the opening possession of the second half to grab a 28-14 lead.
“Those are the catches that have to be made in those situations,” Iosivas said. “It was a good ball from him, too. And I was able to catch it, you know, kind of not with my body, but kind of corral it in instead. Like turning, using my hands. I kind of just corralled it in. I knew I was going to have to take a shot there.
“There are certain coverages you know where the defender is going to be most likely coming from if you get the ball. So that was a cover two look, and I was right down the middle, so I knew that the closest safety was to my right. I kind of expected if I got hit, to be hit there.”
The following week, Iosivas once again had a single reception, this time for 39 yards. That catch led to a touchdown that pushed the Bengals’ lead to 10 points midway through the third quarter.
That reception was also the longest of his professional career, which began when Cincinnati in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Iosivas ran a go route down the left side, and sprinted past both the cornerback and the safety. Burrow had pressure right up the middle and lofted the ball high in the direction of Iosivas, who had to slow down to make the catch.
Not only have Burrow and the Bengals learned to trust Iosivas as a receiver in some difficult situations, they have also come to depend on him, and on the entire receiving room, to block downfield. It is something Iosivas and the entire room take pride in.
“I’ll be in there because I’m a good route runner and pass catcher, but I also have started to take more pride in my blocking, and I thought I had a really good blocking game last game. You never know if I’m in there if it is run or pass. I think that helps, too.”
One thing is for sure – if Iosivas is in the lineup, you know he can be depended upon to do his job.
“I know a lot of the offense, and so they can throw me in wherever they need me,” Iosivas explained. “I have the starting role locked in and I can run for days, so if someone’s tired, I’m usually the guy who stays in.”
And that is good news for the offense. Now, if the defense can just figure out how to get out of its own way…
