The Cincinnati Bengals need help from anywhere they can get it ahead of Week 4's Monday Night Football showdown with the Denver Broncos.
A second straight road trip means another hostile environment and a stiff test for the Bengals as they try to avoid losing all momentum from their 2-0 start and falling back to .500 in the Mile High City. How they fare on Monday boils down to applying pressure on both sides of the ball.
While the offense has little elsewhere to go but up after gift-wrapping the Vikings five turnovers and two touchdowns in Week 3, the defense also needs to step up to avoid an early deficit. Otherwise, the Bengals' already one-dimensional offense will be force into even more obvious passing situations. That'd allow the likes of Nik Bonitto and Denver's fierce pass rush to tee off.
One X-factor looms in the defensive trenches, or at least that's what Cincinnati defensive coordinator Al Golden implied in speaking to the media based on last Sunday's action.
Myles Murphy receives major praise as Bengals DC Al Golden hints at larger role
Not going to lie, I gave up on 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy quite a ways back. Especially when he admitted on the record that he lacked a strong work ethic through is first two NFL seasons, I was even less inclined to believe in him going forward.
To Murphy's credit, that public-facing accountability appears to have lit a spark in him in Year 3. Golden took notice and applauded Murphy for his efforts in the 48-10 loss in Minneapolis, via The Cincinnati Enquirer's Kelsey Conway:
"I think coming out of the game I was most encouraged about Myles, his velocity and the toughness that he exhibited late in that game. He has to play with that violence all of the time. And hopefully that’s his floor now, not his ceiling. I really believe that could be a big moment for him moving forward, I would love to see him just rise to the occasion now. But there is no denying the violence in which he played with in the last 12 minutes of the game. The speed, the ability to make plays in the alley and track down a quarterback. We’ve got to keep cultivating that."
Color me a tad skeptical about what Murphy did in garbage time of a game that was well out of reach. Still, let's look at this from a positive perspective.
The Bengals had nothing to play for toward the end of that blowout other than pride. Murphy could've phoned it in and put on a forgettable performance. Instead, he popped out once Golden watched the film back, and might've earned himself more opportunities in Week 4 and beyond.
After all, Cincinnati doesn't have much to write home about at defensive end other than superstar pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson. Having Murphy on the other side to set the edge, convert speed to power, and pressure Broncos quarterback Bo Nix could be invaluable to a Bengals upset bid on Monday.
I've likened banking on any designs of a Joseph Ossai breakout to the play Waiting for Godot. Spoiler alert: Godot never arrives.
I wasn't even waiting for Myles Murphy to crack the rotation with any meaningful production. Now all of a sudden, Golden is singling him out as an ascending player so early in the year.
Murphy does rank 40th among qualifying edge defenders, according to PFF's grades. That's well ahead of Ossai (85th). As rookie first-round pick Shemar Stewart works his way back from an ankle injury, it'd be so helpful for the defense to get a bundle of quality snaps from Murphy in the meantime.