Phantom Amarius Mims penalty couldn't stop fastest-rising Bengals star in Week 3

The Cincinnati Bengals put on a stellar offensive performance in Pittsburgh on Sunday. Unfortunately, as has happened far too often in recent years, the defense (and special teams, to be fair) let them down in a 30-27 loss that dashed their hopes of a 3-0 start.

But 2024 first-round pick Amarius Mims is truly coming into his own at right tackle. After shutting down Bucs rookie first-rounder Rueben Bain Jr. in the season opener and holding his own in Houston in Week 2, Mims did an outstanding job protecting Joe Burrow again in the Steel City.

It wasn't Mims' fault that Burrow coughed up that last-minute fumble. He and the offensive line did very well until that late pass protection breakdown, especially on T.J. Watt.

Man Mountain Mims is on a trajectory toward NFL's elite

Thanks in large part to Amarius Mims' excellence, Steelers superstar T.J. Watt was a virtual non-factor in this highly anticipated AFC North duel. Just look at the raw numbers from Mims in pass protection:

Alas...a simple alignment penalty where Mims allegedly wasn't on the line of scrimmage, possibly without the customary first-time warning from the officiating crew, wiped out a third-down conversion. It likely cost the Bengals points (they settled for a field goal) and probably a win.

For all the top draft picks in Cincinnati who've lacked impact, though, Mims is a refreshing exception overall. He had to play as a rookie only because Trent Brown got injured, and it was a trial by fire.

I kept questioning over the previous two seasons whether Mims was the right selection given all the holes on defense. Starting in the last half of the 2025 campaign through to now, Mims has more than justified his status as the 18th overall pick out of Georgia.

Any concerns about the lack of college snaps Mims had or his supposed injury issues are in the rearview mirror. He's a 6'8", 350-pound humanoid brick wall who neither T.J. Watt nor any of the other talented Pittsburgh edge rushers could get around on Sunday.

Mims did commit another false start penalty later on, but Orlando Brown Jr. jumped at the same time. In any event, the fact that Mims was flagged for two fouls will only drive him to dial in and improve even more.

Amarius Mims is indeed the Man Mountain the Bengals need to dominate in the trenches. He's the offense's version of Dexter Lawrence in terms of raw size and freaky athleticism. The rest of the NFL just doesn't know it yet. But Mims' elite numbers are starting to become unequivocally undeniable.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow