Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - PROGRESS or MIRAGE? Bengals Defense and Dax Hill LOCK DOWN Cardinals

Episode Date: December 29, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals put together their strongest defensive performance of the year, and that includes rookie linebackers Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., while cornerbacks Dax Hill, and DJ Turner continued to show they're building block players. How much of that performance gives real hope for the future? Jake Liscow and Mike Santagata break down what's worth buying on defense, including Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart's outings. Plus, Amarius Mims and Dylan Fairchild are showing they're the future on the Bengals' offensive line, which helped enable another awesome day from Joe Burrow, Chase Brown, and the Bengals' offense. Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to learn more and join your team’s community:** https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclubJoin the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. So before tip-off, check the FanDuel app and see what’s dropping during NBA Happy Hour — every Friday from 6 to 7:30 PM Eastern.A little basketball, a little action, and a whole lot of Friday energy.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use codeLOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Cincinnati Bengals took care of business against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17. What does the tale of the tape tell us about potential defensive improvements that could be pertinent to 2026 and the Bengals future? Let's break it down. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Well, up, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, part of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, part of the Locked on. Locked-on Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. I'm Jake. Let's go join today by Mike Santagana, who's film analysis you can find both

on Twitter and at bengalstalk.com. He's also part of our postgame Bengals squad show crew that you might have watched yesterday. And Mike joins me every week to break down the latest Bengals film. And at this point in the season, try to find meaning, try to find evaluation notes that are pertinent to the Bengals future that are relevant in the long term. If you're new to the Lockdown Bengals podcast, welcome. Welcome back to all the everydayers out there who don't miss an episode, everyone who makes Locked on Bengals their first list. And we've been covering the Cincinnati Bengals since 2016 on this podcast

and haven't missed a beat the entire way. It's your best stop for all your Bengals information for any podcast out there. And welcome back if you make us part of your routine. And Mike, as we dive into the film as is routine, typically we start with the offense with this team because that's where Joe Burrow plays. He's the best player on the team. And where Jamar Chase plays, he's the other best player on the team. And the thing that makes this team go, the last couple of weeks, the defense has shown some life.

Now, it was against a very bad Arizona Cardinals team that looked like it could have cost Jonathan Ganon, his job against the Bengals in Week 17 and against Quinn Ewers and the Dolphins last week. But this goes all the way back to the buy at this point where there have been. glimpses of improvement here and there. There have been points after the Patriots game, even the beginning of the Bills game, the first half of that Bills game, where I was inclined to give Al Goulda some credit for finding some adaptations over the bi-week

and finding ways to get a little bit more out of these players. Since then, they've been eliminated from the playoffs. They've had some disappointing moments for sure. And a lot of the same questions have been there. I don't think that the off-season priorities have changed. in terms of they still need to address every level of this defense. But how much do you take away from this game and what we've seen in the second half of the season since that by week

and think maybe there has been some progress? Is there anything that stands out to you that is not potentially a late season mirage? I think the first thing is the improvement of these linebackers. We kind of talked last week, how they went from worse in the league to just like they're not good, but they're rookies. They're still not performing out level you would hope for, but it's not as bad as it has been. I think this week, Barrett Carter, specifically, Demetrius Knight 2,

they were actually pretty good. They had their first game that I categorized is pretty good. I didn't feel like they were, you know, as fooled by play action. You didn't see them into the offensive line and not able to get back to their coverage responsibilities. he actually didn't see him take too many steps forward at all. So they're not really roboting out of there either, which is rolling back and trying to find your guy.

Instead, they're just kind of sit and wait, kind of shuffle, shuffle, maybe take a step or two forward, see his play action, okay, back out. And they were actually pretty fast about recognizing the play action.

So I thought that was a marked improvement in this game. They ended up, what Carter ended up with like a PBU against a running back. And that stuff's great, but I think what's really an improvement is just recognizing the play action. Because that was killing them. Every week, it was the Ravens game. First play the game.

Play action. Overrout to a tight end. And then it felt like every week there, the Bill's game, a ton of it. Play action. Just throw it over at the tight. It was just such an easy way to earn chunk plays against this defense. And it's because the linebackers become flying up and couldn't get back to the coverage responsibilities.

So here, it could have been the Cardinals. Maybe they don't sell it as well. Maybe they're just more worried about Trey McBride overrouts than they are the Cardinals running game, which me too. but overall, a much better version of themselves at taking on play action. I thought they've done a better job of tackling the last couple of weeks, too. They're not at the top of the mistackle leaderboards lately. So some improvements, I think, if you're looking at these linebackers, is, okay,

could at least one of these guys be in the rotation for next year or on a average or better quality defense? So now I think you're starting to see some reasons to say, like, yeah, that might be true. If they can play more disciplined against play action and if they can tackle, that's better than what we've seen from them essentially all year. And there have been, to their credit, weeks before this week where we've said, yeah, there's some improvement in tackling. It's getting a little bit better for those guys. There's still moments that they would like back, I think, every week,

but they're starting to flash a little bit. and if there are sustainable improvements in this team's approach to defending play action, and specifically the second level's approach to defending play action, I've said every week, and certainly this week, Harold Fanon may or may not play for the Browns in Week 18, so we'll see if I'm saying it next week. But if Kevin Safansky doesn't go to that well, I'm shocked we didn't see the Cardinals go to that well a little bit more.

Maybe they didn't. It was just well defended. That PA over to the tight end has been there all year, like you said. I've said it in every single preview. the Bengals going to be able to defend the PA over this week. Since this became a thing for them, the last handful of games, and this week I thought they had a pretty good plan for Trey McBride. That featured a lot of Dax Hill, who had an excellent game,

would like to talk about his contributions. DJ Ivy has been playing a lot against tight ends as well, and they didn't really feature him as much in this game, but he later had a pass break up on Michael Wilson, who's been taking the NFL by storm this year. So shout out to DJ Ivy, but talk to me about Dax Hill, who looks like he's really settled in an outside corner.

Zach Taylor and his press conference on Monday said, I think Dax Hill's best position is outside corner, which I've been asking this thing to do since they drafted him. My opinion when they drafted him was, and you can go find this episode, I'm sure. Let him try it outside corner, and if it doesn't work, move him. And instead, the Bengals have kind of done the exact opposite

and tried him everywhere else. and now he's landed outside. But how was Dax in this game? How did they use him? And why was he so good? Dax was awesome in this game. This felt like the same, I had the same feelings for Dax in this game as I did,

DJ Turner against the Packers. Now, Turner had more past breakups. But Dax, to me, faced harder competition, too. Turner spent this game, a lot of it, facing Michael Wilson, whenever they would play some type of man-or-mash coverage. And on the other end, Dax matched up with Marvin Harrison, Jr., and at the time, Stray McBride. I thought he did an excellent job against those guys.

He didn't get bullied by McBride. You didn't see McBride, you know, just dunk on him, which actually did happen to Dax last week against Darren Waller. So he's not getting bullied by the big guy. And on the other side, top whatever 10 NFL draft pick might be playing a little hurt, not getting any separation whatsoever from Dax Hill, though. There's no movement that Marvin Harrison Jr. made that wasn't immediately followed by Daxil just in his hip. He's just in his hip the entire route every time he went up against Marvin Harrison Jr.

That's how Marvin Jr. ends up with one target. And that target was a broken path, broken up pass by Dax Hill. So I was really impressed, took on one of the best tight ends in the league, took on a high draft pick and came out of this game pretty unscathed. In fact, I would say he probably had, could be fact checked. It felt like he got his hands on the ball more than the guy he was guarding. You know, he was knocking those passes down. I only remember the one that he gave up, which looked really weird. I've never seen Dax look that stiff. Joe Goodberry theorized that he thought he had inside help,

and we talked about it after the game. But it was that little dig route for Xavier Weaver, where it went for 23 yards. That was the longest catch he gave up. I don't remember any others, and he was involved in breaking up a pass intended for Tray McBride. He was targeted twice when covering Tray McBride, gave up zero catches on those two targets, obviously.

Yeah, that catch also came when they were down like 30, the car comes down like 30 points. Yeah. DJ Turner, also pretty good in this game. Let's target it four times covering Michael Wilson and gave up zero catches. You take that. DJ Turner, Dax Hill, I think the foundation of this defense going forward. But there's some splash plays in this game from the defensive line as well that is still looking for that dominant pass rush.

We're still looking for answers. Let's talk about Miles Murphy as he continues his ascension. Samar Stewart. first career sack as we continue discussing this Bengals defense coming up next. Let's be real. Nobody starts a business for the joy of calculating tax withholdings or managing payroll spreadsheets. And that's where Gusto comes in.

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and they have automated tools like letters, onboarding materials, and direct deposits to save you hours every week. If you're interested, you can try Gusto today at gusto.com slash lockdown NFL. You'll get three months free when you run your first payroll. That's three months of free payroll at gusto.com slash locked on NFL. One more time, that URL is gusto.com slash locked on NFL. Mike, the Bengals have gotten a little bit more out of their pass rush lately. I looked at this recently, and since they're by, they're in the top half of the league and sack rate per game.

I think they have four sacks of Jacoby Brissette in that week 17 game against the Cardinals. and it was pretty spread out. Samar Stewart had one. Sejohn had one. Miles Murphy had one. T.J. Slayton had one. I think Cedrick Johnson narrowly missed one or two more. Isaiah Foskey came in late, narrowly missed one or two himself.

When the backups were in there, they've gotten a pretty reasonable pressure rate in recent weeks, and they're doing it without guys having dominant one-on-one wins, which I find really interesting. But you get some Mark Stewart first career sack. You get Miles Murphy career high in sacks five and a half now this year for the team lead, I believe, which was Ray Hendrickson's until now, which tells you something about the state of this pass rush. But what are they doing better lately that is leading to an increased pressure rate that's leading to guys like Shamara and Miles Murphy with these sacks this weekend for miles in recent games as well? not to spin this praise back to the defensive backs that we just talked about,

but they are getting better coverage on the back end. All of these sacks, like you said, they weren't dominant one-on-one wins. Miles came, he got chipped, and then he faces the right tackle, gets the right tackles hands off him and go makes the play, but it's three plus seconds after the play started. And then the same with Stewart. He loses initially, but then he's able to win and keep working and lift up that inside hand, went to the inside and get the sack that way.

none of those happen if there's a coverage bust or just somebody wide open in the secondary. Those are not plays that, oh, we missed a guy open because the pressure got there so fast. They are plays that you're going to keep working to the quarterback. And if the secondary keeps holding up well back there, then come over with the sack. I think the Murphy one in particular was man coverage rep. And I think they're trusting themselves a little bit more. They're playing a little bit better in man coverage here. where everything is just clamped.

There's nowhere for Preset to go to the ball. You can see him working, Barters Jr., clamped by Daxhill, works to the middle of the field over and over and just trying to find a guy, Barrett Carter's got the running back, and then all the way to the back end, DJ Turner is on Michael Wilson.

And by the time you get there, it's time to go. You got to get out of the pocket. And, you know, Jacoby Preset or Miles Murphy, who's faster at this stage in their careers? It's Miles Murphy. So he's able to chase him down pretty easily. But I think some of that praise should go to the defensive backs because they're playing really tight man coverage. They're doing a good job in their zones too of knowing when to fall off, when to pass something, when to plaster and connect to the guy that they're on when I play breaks down.

I think all of that is helping them get sacks in these situations where earlier this year one example we talked about were the stunts. Like the stunts are working, but it's taking too long, like the ball's out. well now I wonder if those stunts that are working if the coverage is this good we wouldn't be saying that we'd be saying well look at this the stunts are working we're getting some sacks you get some quarterback hits throwaways pressures and that's I think what it is is just like when you marry the coverage and how long you're able to hold up in the secondary to how fast you're able to get to the pass rusher then you're coming away with sacks rather than missed opportunities how's from our Stewart play from a pass rush perspective in this game he grades out pretty reasonably if you're just looking to the PFF stuff. Obviously, you've watched the game. He is involved on a play where he gets held and Cedric Johnson gets held. He ends up batting the past. I thought his bull rush showed up a couple times in this game.

And the quality of competition caveat applies here. The Arizona Cardinals don't have a good offensive line. They're playing backup tackles. Their guards are not very good either. A lot of interior snaps for Shamar in this game, a lot of three-tech snaps for him. And I thought the bull rush compressed the pocket a number of times. and affected Jacoby Brissette. What did you see from Shamar as a pass rusher in this game?

Exactly that, pretty much. He was a bully. He was able to get a bull rush and able to compress the pocket. I think that's what they, all they really want him to do right now is just kind of push that guy back into the quarterback, try to contain still. I think that's important to not completely lose yourself. But, you know, mush rush, contain rush, where you're slowly driving that guy into the quarterback.

And it may not result in sacks. kind of result in that caged in feel for the quarterback where he's got nowhere to go. Typically talking about that with mobile quarterbacks, but it feels like with just the Bengals body types, they're going for that in general. Miles Murphy, Shamar Stewart, the defensive tackles. All these guys are bull rush guys. They're all guys that first and foremost are going to win with their power. So what I saw was Stewart generally doing an okay job bullrushing. I think the quality of competition caveat, yeah, there's a couple of, you'd probably hope there were a couple more dominant wins like the holding call that he was able to draw

and the sack but overall it was an all right performance for him and i think what was a year that has been i wouldn't have expected him to have an overall pretty good bull rush uh type of game earlier this season where it was nothing's pretty good last guy i want to talk about on this defense then we'll shift gears talk about the offense it did as expected the reason that we're not leading with the offense even though it was great and joe burrow was awesome in this game, especially when he's protected. We talked about his splits, actually, on the postgame show when he was kept clean, just remarkable numbers.

T.J. Slayton, I think, had his best game of the season. Only played 24 snaps. The Cardinals didn't run the ball very much, but he got in there on a couple of pressures, including a sack, had some run stops as well. Anything stand after you for T.J. Slayton this week, because he seemed to shine a little bit more than normal? I think he did. And it was strange.

He was eating double teams. He was just doing a lot of traditional nose stuff, first and foremost. He ate some double teams, got some knockback, a couple of run stops that way, which you don't always get as a nose tackle. A lot of times you are the grimy role player. That is the reason Ray Lewis has 175 tackles this year, where that felt like Syra Goose's role back in the day. It's also why Logan Wilson and those guys got a bunch of tackles with DJ Reeder.

But did a great job of just being the cog, but he was a little bit more than that this. week where he's making the play too. Get double team, hold your ground. That guy leaves. I'm going to shed this block. Go make the play. Get a knockback when I'm singled up one on one, on one. Go make the play. He also had what could be considered a coverage sack because it came a little later into the down. So he credit some of the coverage, but also he kept working. He kept working and got to the quarterback because there are plays against the bills. You disparage, don't disparage coverage sex. It plays against the bills. I remember it's like

six seconds. And the coverage just can't hold up that long. So you do still have to get there. I think it still deserves some commendation for being able to get to the quarterback and work there in three and a half, four seconds because it's not a given. So he was able to keep working and get a sack that way. I don't think he got too much pressure in general, but he did generally just kind of occupy some blockers in the pass rush scheme, sometimes got a little bit of push, kind of the role of a nose tackle and a pass rush where you're really not designed to be dominating up front. But yeah, I think it was his best game. Shout out to TJ Slayton. I mean, a bunch of guys are going to show up in games like this. These are games that the Arizona media is talking about Arizona quitting on John Gannon,

talking about Gannon losing his job because like the Cody Ford catch, for example, and like that moment, well, it was really fun for us watching that and knowing everything we know about Cody Ford and, you know, being the biggest wide receiver ever, 345 pounds, the heaviest guy to ever have a 20 plus yard play. as a receiver in NFL history, probably in any capacity as a ball carrier in NFL history, I don't remember specifically, but it was equally as unfun for Cardinals fans

who, a lot of them, if they were still on the fence about the future for Gannon, I think, made their decision in that moment. Mike, let's finish the show with the offense that once again, the expectations were that they would look like this. They punted the ball once. They kicked one field goal.

Besides that, when the starters were out there, they were perfect on offense and looked at times like it was very easy. And that's what it should look like a lot of the time. It's nice to see that it can look like that. Again, some of these bad teams will finish up with the offense coming up next. This episode of Lockdown Bengals is brought to you by prize picks, whether you're starting a new routine or jumping into player projections for the first time. Trying something new can feel like a challenge.

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That's code locked on NFL. You'll get $50 in free lineups after your first $5 lineup prize picks. It's good to be right. Mike, let's talk about this. offense. Joe Burrow was excellent, especially when he was kept clean. The offensive line, I thought was a standout for good reasons in this game. We continue to see the ascension of Dylan Fairchild and Amarius Mims, and those guys look like they are absolutely part of your future. The calls for the in-season extension for Dalton Reisner were out there in a big way on social

media after Sunday's game. And you had contributions up and down the stat sheet from Jamar Chase from T. Higgins from Chase Brown, just an overall dominant game from the offense. What worked well for them in this game? Why did it look so easy this week? Well, the run game was working really well. I think that's the first thing. When you can run this well from both shotgun and under center, it makes life easy. And it may look easy. I think some of the blocks that may were kind of difficult. I think of the power plays that they were running, being able to pool at the goal line when Fairchild blocks for that touchdown, that's difficult. Some of the wide zone that they were running, like I said yesterday, or not yesterday,

but last week, kind of interest in this under center wide zone game that they've brought back because they kind of abandoned that in the 2022 season, and they've sporadically flirted with it. But this is the first time it looks good. And I think some of the reason for that is there are a little bit more athletic up front, but they're not that athletic up front. So I think the other half the reason you have to give credit to Scott Peters in the way he's teaching it where they're not flying out of there and trying to knock guys around and run on a line. They're kind of more in control in this, tighten up all of the angles and run it that way. They still were doing inside zone and duo because they've done that their entire existence, but with Joe Burrow. But I think some of this

varied stuff is interesting. The power stuff, they ran it beautifully, like perfect. perfectly executed power. I don't think you see a prettier play, a prettier run play. Maybe a perfectly executed trap just because it's fun. Yeah, I was, I was going to say crunch. Like nothing hits quite like a perfect crunch with nobody, like it's maybe one play a game at most where like I have the Bengals run crunch this

year? I don't remember it. Not this year. I don't believe they've run it this year. They've run it in the past though. So it's in there. But yeah, I think crunch is up there.

But they're hitting this power. every block's made. And not only is every block made, but Chase Browns make it a couple of guys miss, too. I thought there was a really good Chase Brown game again after last week was another really good Chase Brown game. So it's kind of tough you get these games after you're eliminated from playoff contention, but at the same time, you're hoping you can build this run game into something for next season.

If you can bring back all the same pieces and go, can this run game still be good to start next season? Because I think that would give them a really big lift for these early season issues. And in the passing game, you have the assistance of the run game working, which is tying the hands of the Arizona Cardinals a little bit. But Cardinals play a ton of cover two. And that's the general answer to keep a cap on things for Joe Burrow in this offense. Wasn't a ton downfield in this game.

The T. Higgins deep balls won. Joe Burrow misses on the out and up. I think he took an extra hitch. We looked at that play before we started recording. Drops them in the bucket on the left side line. It looks like a 9-89 kind of play that he fits in. It's like an invert two that they get. It's a pretty insane throw to try.

But with the corner who's playing the deep half because it's invert two, his hips are facing the inside of the field. Burrough sees an opportunity to fit a ball in there and he does. That's an awesome throw. Besides that, it just felt like Burrow knew exactly who was going to be open. There wasn't a whole lot of contested ball in this game. Maybe the most contested catch was on the first drive, which is Jermar Chase on that dig route to convert.

to third down that Burrow fits into a tight window. But when he was clean in this game, just to repeat the stats, I mean, he threw one incomplete pass in this game, which I'm pretty sure is that sideline ball to T. Higgins on the out and up. He's 23 or 24 on his clean drop back for 96% completion percentage, 12.2 yards per attempt, 293 yards, two touchdowns. No turnover worthy throws again this week for Joe Burrow. what was working well for this passing game?

Why was it so easy? Because the Cardinals, like, they have a couple of decent corners, but no real shot against Joe Burrow this week, Jamar Chase T. Higgins. Burrow always had the right answer, at least when it was available to him as a possibility, which when he's kept clean, pretty much always was an answer there for him,

even on the play that he missed, like he brought up. If it is that one, the answer was there, just didn't make the exact, you know, right throw. bit late, a little bit short on it. So I think he was good passing offense is always going to be good passing defense. The way the rules are stated in the NFL, the way everything is slanted. If you can be perfect in the passing game, you're going to be whatever coverage is thrown at you. If you can read it out, get through any disguise, which it felt like the Cardinals were. Despite the run game for the thing that was being very good, they never sold out to stop the run.

And that's part of the reason why the run game is probably very good. It's a little easier to block with one less guy down in the box. So they're selling out to try to stop this passing attack and then definitely keep a cap over the top of it with the safeties. It didn't matter. It's the good passing offense is going to win out. And I think another thing that Burrow did well in this game was using his cadence. And the reason I bring that up is just a third and five getting a guy to jump and pick up

a free first down is up there. But also gets these pass rush a little bit on their heels. So it's part of the reason that maybe all of these offensive linemen had such good pass blocking performances in this game. Part of the reason for that is the guys weren't getting great jumps. Burroughs at home, he's able to use his cadence, able to vary it up, able to change it, use a hard count here and there, and not just do it on fourth and one.

I think that is also key, not just going out there on fourth and one at the 45-yard line and then perform your first hard count of the day. We were finally spared. The throwaway, fourth down, fourth and five are shorter, Joe Burrow goes out there, yells a bunch. And the Bengals burned a timeout play. Way to go Bengals. They did on third and five, and they got the guy to jump because that's a situation you actually are trying to jump.

Because they're going to snap the ball. They are going to snap it. So it makes sense. You got to have those in your tool belt. I think one thing that would be nice is it's tough with Burrow. But if they could ever cheat account it where they break that. And they kind of did that on the quarterback sneak. Yeah.

Just go up there. Once the center touches the ball, just snap it. Yeah. And Arizona wasn't set, which is another moment in this game where I was like, uh-oh, for Gannon, like for the Cardinals. Like, you're just, you're not, you're not getting set fast enough on a QB sneak on fourth and one near the goal line. Like, what are you doing? But it was quick. It was quick. They broke the huddle, sprinted it up, snap the ball immediately. So I think that's some of the, if we're going to not take the Gannon approach, we take the Bengals approach, hey, good job Joe Burrow using that cadence. For sure. Changing it up. So I think bad stuff sometimes doesn't get the credit deserves, just all of the work he does. snap and his cadence is one of those things.

Yeah. Offensive line in this game, we've alluded to it a little bit here. Dylan Pearchaud, Amarius Mims, continue to show ascension. Amarius Mims has been on an absolute heater since Joe Burrow returned to practice before the New England Patriots game. And that's obviously game after the bye week. Has his highest graded run blocking grade, I think, in his NFL career, according to PFF. Yeah, just confirmed that one.

An 85 run blocking game for Amari. That's just a PFF grade. You've obviously watched a film, and that's why you're here. Does that check out with what you saw from Amarius Mims and Dylan Fairchild in this game? Yeah, I think especially for Mims and run blocking, there were a couple of plays that were just kind of, ooh, catch your attention type of plays where he's on the backside of wide zone on one rep. He's able to drive that guy a whole way down the line. There's another play where they're running power. Part of that is that you have to be able to hit that double team and get to the backer so that there is a clean pool for Fairchild going to the

right. And I think there's a couple of reps in Duo and Inside Zone where you just see a lot of movement from Marius Mims. And like I've said, last year felt like Baby Deer in the run game. Just had no idea where his assignment was, especially if there's any type of movement or weird front. And it just wasn't how maybe you draw it up on a chalkboard felt lost. Now it feels like movement, nothing bothers him. He is processing really well. He's able to get to his assignment quickly. And now he's not able to just get there quickly and use his athleticism. But I think he's also using that size and power to displace defenders. I've been really impressed.

Yes, he's been a good pass protector, but I've been really impressed in his run game because of where it was last season and early this season compared to where it is now. Yeah, we're fully in on the Scott Peters stock at this point, getting the best out of all of these guys. Dalton Reisner is having the best year of his career is a run blocker and continues to be a steady pass blocker.

The chemistry between Reisner and MIM seems to be really good. Fairchild, we talked about him. driving Callais Campbell five yards down the field on a seven-yard Chase Brown touchdown run. Awesome play for him there. Generally, a really strong game for Ryster despite him giving up, I think, one sack ends up on his plate, but it's really not him. It was pressure from elsewhere that, but anyway, overall, this offensive line has really come together. Really appreciate the job that Scott Peters has done, the job that the players have done to get there hitting on the draft. Picks with Amarius Mims and Dylan Fairchild, we can credit them for those couple of hits, I think, after the process in this draft to skip out on Tate Ratledge in the second round and go Dylan Fairchild in the third round was under a lot of scrutiny at the time.

At least Dylan Fairchild looks like a guy. At least you got that part of it right. Would it be great to have both of them? Probably, but at least also Dalton Reisers kicking around and you're getting really good play out of him. We'll see if there is an extension there. for all of Dalton Ridersner's reputation, the guy looks like he's having a great time playing in Cincinnati. He's always the first one downfield to help somebody up.

He's out there celebrating. It looks like he's having a good time out there. And why wouldn't you? The Buggles had a remarkable run this season of general health outside of Joe Burrow, to be honest. And so that makes it a little disappointing that the season is going to go the way that it's going to go or the way that it has gone. but in terms of the future here on offense,

I continue to have not a whole lot of notes. Like, yeah, you'd like to improve your depth. That's got to be an offseason goal. But even as we talk about the defense playing a little bit better here down the stretch, your offseason improvements and your offseason budget largely needs to go to that defense. Because when they've had Joe Burrough T. Higgins, Jumar Chase, on the field together, this offense couldn't be a whole lot better than it's been. And that's what's ahead of the Bengals.

As we have one more game to talk about, Mike. We'll talk about the Cleveland Browns, a much stiffer defensive test than the Bengals have really had in quite a while at this point. They've been playing some soft defenses, and that certainly, I think, is part of the offensive success. And so we'll have one more game to get you ready for here this week on Lockdown Bengals. Again, make sure you're following Mike on Twitter for a lot of great clips that he posts

there at Bengals underscore Sands on Twitter. is writing at bengals talk asi.com. You'll also find him on the Bengals Squad postgame show on this channel on YouTube right after the game. Until next time, that's going to do it for this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Thanks for listening. Hoodei and have a good one.