Film Room: Defensive interior shines vs. Giants

To Good Health!

At one point, injuries reduced the Cincinnati Bengals to their third-string defensive tackle. They had guys coming in off the street to play and one guy starting who was eventually cut. It was not a pretty sight.

Now, they’re healthy and have the rotation they anticipated.

And it is glorious.

BJ Hill had the best game I can remember seeing him play. He was making plays left and right, but this clip stood out from the rest.

Hill is the defensive tackle on the right side of the screen. He is lined up in the B gap. When the right tackle attempts to reach block him, Hill dips his shoulder and slides through the gap. The running back cuts way back, but Hill is able to cut back with him.

With a little help from Germaine Pratt, Hill brings him down.

This team has not had a legit interior pass rusher in years, but the wait is over.

Sheldon Rankins made his presence known throughout the night, but this spin move was straight-up nasty.

He sells the rush up the B gap before spinning into the A gap, getting the jump on the guard, and finding a path to the quarterback.

This is Trey Hendrickson’s sack, but I can’t stop looking at Kris Jenkins Jr. This clip shows off both his athleticism and strength,

Jenkins is lined up in a 0 technique over the center. On the snap, he stunts to the outside and pancakes the left guard, but the center actually stays with him. Jenkins occupied two blockers on the play, creating an opportunity for his teammates Rankins and Hendrickson to be one on one.

The long wait is over. McKinnley Jackson was injured basically immediately after camp started. Although he was a third-round comp pick and could not possibly be expected to fill his shoes, he is the closest thing to DJ Reader they’ve got. He is a 330-pound run stuffer who can eat up blocks like so many royales the cheese.

Here, he lines up at the nose and drives the center into the backfield, causing some serious havoc and forcing the running back to bounce out wide.

Jackson is a disruptor.

One reason people didn’t like the Jackson pick was that he is not the type of player you want on the field on passing downs, but that doesn’t mean he can’t collapse the pocket. He’s the reason Daniel Jones can’t step up into the pocket in this clip.

No fancy pass-rush moves. He just bull-rushes the center, but it is effective.

The defensive interior has been a problem for the Bengals this season, but they have been banged up. Now, back at full strength, with starters Hill and Rankins healthy, as well as Jenkins and Jackson developing behind them, this group could quickly become a strength.