I struggled with this headline. There are so many statistics that we as NFL fans use to justify whatever stance or opinion we are trying to convey. The bottom line is that the Cincinnati Bengals‘ rushing attack, lead by Chase Brown, is off to a mind blowingly abysmal start.
That stat referenced in the headline refers to just one of the many numbers that have been dug up to help people understand just how bad the ground game has been in Cincy.
“The Bengals broke a record this week,” writes SI’s Mike Santagata. Chase Brown’s 47 attempts are the most for any player in NFL history with fewer than 100 rushing yards in the first 3 games of a season.
He’s amassed just 93 yards through three games, that’s two yards per carry. He finished with three yards on ten attempts in Sunday’s Week 3 embarrassment against the Minnesota Vikings. That’s 11 inches per rush…
The fact that the team is 2-1 on the season certainly softens the blow of their running game woes, but the cause for concern far out weighs the encouraging record so far.
Chase Brown Has Negative 54 Yards Before Contact
This really should be the headline. I’ve seen some crazy statistics, but -54 rushing yards before contact might be the most incomprehensible one I have come upon.
Last season, the only players to finish in the negatives in the yards before contact statistic were quarterbacks, a handful of wide receivers, a few tight ends, and even a cornerback. To see a running back, let alone a starting bell cow running back like Brown, getting contacted in the backfield every time he touches the football is yet another sign that something is awry in Cincinnati.
“Brown has the worst rushing success rate of all qualified runners according to NextGenStats. He has 18 more yards after contact per game than he does actual yards per game,” Santagata writes.
Still, while the play calling Sunday was lazy to say the least, and the offensive line and tight ends had their fair share of struggles, Brown does bear some of the blame as well.
Starter Chase Brown, who entered the year with high expectations, had one of the worst games by any running back in the last six seasons,” ESPN’s Ben Baby proclaims. Against the Vikings, Brown had 10 carries for three yards. Per ESPN Research, that is the fewest by any running back with that many attempts since Saquon Barkley had one yard on 13 carries for the New York Giants in 2019.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Brown had minus-22 rushing yards over expectation on Sunday, which indicates that he has not been able to gain what has been available.
Bengals’ Personnel Speaks On Rushing Troubles
The man taking on a brunt of the blame in the worst loss in franchise history is, of course, head coach Zac Taylor.
Taylor says he is aware of the rushing numbers and the team is doing everything possible to assess the problem.
“There’s a lot we have to prove in the run game. It’s not pretty right now. We’re not going to run from that,” Taylor begins. “There’s a lot of that going on that we got to really sort out and identify our problems and be able to correct them on the run.”
Brown is placing the blame on himself, saying it’s up to him to break more tackles.
“From the running back position, I feel like breaking more tackles, breaking more tackles and getting up to the second level and making more explosive [plays], I think that’s what we can do at our position,” Brown said on Sunday.
“The main thing is winning games,” Brown continued. “When you lose, it’s different. Obviously, we have to look ourselves in the mirror and figure out where we have to get better and move on.”
Then there’s captain and center Ted Karras. Karras is looking to control what he can control to get this ground game back on track.
“The most disappointing [thing] is that everyone up front took a turn against a really good front,” Karras said. “I’m not going to discredit [the Vikings], but to let the game get away from us was an [offensive] line responsibility.”
Bengals’ Rushing Attack Off To Worst Start In NFL History, -54 Yards Before Contact