Bengals’ 2-0 Start Sparks Dexter Lawrence Message Before Steelers Game
· Yahoo Sports
The Cincinnati Bengals are off to a 2-0 start, and one key driving force is their revamped defense. Moreover, the arrival of Dexter Lawrence II has driven a culture shift on that side of the ball.
In two games so far this season, Lawrence has played 86 snaps, leading to a 91.5 overall PFF defensive grade. The Bengals star has also recorded eight total pressures, six hurries, two QB hits, three stops, and three solo tackles.
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Furthermore, the defense only allowed six points in the Week 2 win over the Houston Texans. The Bengals defense forced the Texans to abandon the run, totaling 60 yards, and had C. J. Stroud make 55 pass attempts.
Amid Cincinnati’s impressive start, former NFL head coach Rex Ryan is praising the defensive tackle as the team looks to carry this form into their Week 3 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“There’s no miracle formula; same defensive coordinator and all that [but] they got the man in the middle, Dexter Lawrence,” Ryan said on a Sept. 21 appearance on “Get Up” when talking about the veteran defensive tackle.
“Why in the world would you give up a top-10 pick in the draft? Why? Because of this monster inside. This is the best defensive tackle in football.”
Dexter Lawrence Is More Than Just a Run Stopper
Moreover, Ryan highlighted what makes Lawrence such an impactful defensive lineman: He’s more than a run stopper and can affect the opposing team’s passing game too.
“He’s not just a run defender, even though he absolutely dominates in the run game, but he collapses the pocket on the pass,” Ryan added. “This guy has been a game-changer for them. He brought them confidence. That’s a fourth-down play. At fourth-and-inches right there. Well, guess what? That man eats running backs like he eats cheeseburgers, and he eats the hell out of those things.
“To me, this was not just a good trade for the Cincinnati Bengals, who never trade for guys. This is a fantastic trade, and it’s one that’s gonna put them in the playoffs.”
Tee Higgins Wants Bengals to Still Improve Despite 2-0 Start
Despite being 2-0, the Bengals aren’t content, and wideout Tee Higgins noted that the team still has areas to improve as they look to go 3-0 when Week 3 comes around against the Steelers.
“I feel like everybody was clicking today,” Higgins said. “Obviously, we left some out there. I’m not gonna ever say that it was perfect out there because we wasn’t. A lot of flags that shouldn’t happen, a lot of false starts, and not only by the O-line, some by skill position, and that’s things we got to correct.
“I’m not gonna say it was the perfect game. Obviously, we won. It’s a good thing, but we got to build off the mistakes and off the errors and come back stronger next week versus Pittsburgh.”
It will be interesting to see if the Bengals can clean up any issues they feel could bite them against the Steelers, but for now they are 2-0 and off to a good start.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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