The Bengals appear to be moving forward with Jalen Rivers at right guard. I feel like his performance the past two weeks has merited that. Could the Bengals have two long-term pieces for the offensive line?
As always, it is important to take PFF grades with a grain of salt. Jalen Rivers graded out with a 56.1. His pass blocking grade was even lower, coming in at 45.1. When watching his tape, I don’t think it was anywhere close to what that grade would indicate.
Rivers looked patient, stout in pass protection for most of his snaps, and once again was one of the better players to open up running lanes. He is constantly staying active and looking for work. In the process of doing that, he dumped Aidan Hutchinson on his backside a couple of times.
Dylan Fairchild was the lowest-graded Bengal on the offense. He had a 38.7 overall. That type of grade would make some people say he needs to be replaced, before ever actually watching the film.
When watching the All-22 back, I thought he looked really solid once again for the majority of the game. Why was the grade so bad?
He was injured toward the end of the third quarter. Hutchinson clipped his leg during one of the times that Rivers dumped him on his butt. Here are all of the clips prior to that injury.
Fairchild could barely move for the next three plays after his injury. He was replaced for one play by Dalton Risner at left guard. He came back in the game, but it was clearly noticeable that he was still struggling. He ultimately gave up the safety in the end. A play like that will kill your PFF grade.
I think in this case, it is very important to understand the context of why his play dropped off late. Here are the clips for the rest of the game, starting with the one he was injured on.
I can commend him for wanting to finish the game. However, someone on the staff should have taken that decision out of his hands. This is the reason you have a Dalton Risner. At worst, you let him finish that game. Hopefully, Fairchild is able to get back on the field soon. However, the Bengals have to be smart not to do something that could end up costing him the whole season.
In a frustrating year, the Bengals may have found a couple of long-term solutions at guard. Early in the season, what are your thoughts on the play of the two young guys?
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