Cincinnati Bengals: 3 things to watch vs. Jaguars in Week 4
By Alex Austin
Are the Bengals really a top ten defense in the NFL?
Through the first three games, the Cincinnati Bengals are now a top ten defense according to DVOA. I don’t think even the most avid support of the Bengals’ defense would have predicted this unit was one of the best in the league, but they have shown an incredible ability to enforce their will on the game.
Here are the new top teams in DVOA. This is the last week without opponent adjustments. New No. 1 team.
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@FO_ASchatz) September 27, 2021
1 #AZCardinals 45.3%
2 #Broncos 43.9%
3 #Browns 41.0%
4 #Rams 40.6%
5 #Panthers 40.5%
6 #Bills 36.4%
7 #Seahawks (!) 25.1%
8 #Buccaneers 22.7%
9 #Bengals (!)
10 #Saints
Through timely sacks, tackles for losses, sound tackling techniques, and creating turnovers, this unit looks completely different from 2020. The hope coming into 2021 was that the defense could be around average while the offense carried the load but so far the opposite has been true.
Jacksonville is not going to challenge the Bengals, however, this will be a game where I look to see the defense take complete control. There should not be an issue winning the line of scrimmage or creating turnovers against a team that has shown a lot of weaknesses and should be playing from behind for a long portion of this game.
Start 'Em, Sit 'Em for Week 4 vs. Jaguars. light. Must Read
Rather than learning a lot about his unit, I want to watch the defense against Jacksonville because it will be fun. The NFL is a highly competitive league, so when you have a chance to go against an overmatched opponent take advantage and enjoy that for the first time in several years, the Bengals are not the overmatched team on the field.