Chargers vs. Bengals: What's the Game Plan for Cincinnati?
The Cincinnati Bengals made it clear to the rest of the league in Week 1 that the hunt for a fifth consecutive playoff berth is quite legitimate.
For coach Marvin Lewis and his team, the first major "prove it" test comes this Sunday in a Week 2 affair against the San Diego Chargers at Paul Brown Stadium. The Mike McCoy-coached team finished 9-7 last season but features elite quarterback Philip Rivers under center and an impressive-looking defense.
It wasn't too long ago these Chargers, with many of the same core pieces, knocked the Bengals from the playoffs. These Bengals are healthy and on a roll, though, but so are the Chargers one week removed from an impressive defensive performance to start the season.
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Below, let's take a deep look at how the Bengals might game-plan to ensure they can gain some semblance of revenge Sunday.
Offensive Game Plan
Run, run and run.
It sounds simple, but it's how the Bengals win games these days. Jeremy Hill looks like one of the best backs in the league after a monster rookie campaign and then 63 yards and two scores in Oakland during the team's 33-13 whipping of the Raiders last weekend.
Of course, it helps that the Bengals feature one of the league's best offensive lines. What folks will point to is Andrew Whitworth and Co. not allowing a sack last week in the face of Khalil Mack and Aldon Smith, but what should get the attention is the sheer dominance in the ground game.
It just so happens that Cincinnati's strength pairs perfectly with how to beat the Chargers. Much of it is the simple fact a run-first approach keeps Rivers and potent weapons such as Stevie Johnson and Keenan Allen off the field.
Most of it, though, pertains to what looks like a great San Diego defense, at least against the pass. In the face of what is supposed to be a strong Detroit offense last week, the Chargers bracketed Calvin Johnson into a non-factor and kept other Lions weapons in check while picking off Matthew Stafford twice.
| Eric Ebron | 4 | 53 | 1 | 5 |
| Ameer Abdullah | 4 | 44 | 0 | 4 |
| Calvin Johnson | 2 | 39 | 0 | 4 |
It's debatable as to whether the Lions or Bengals have better offensive weapons, but what isn't is simple—the Bengals can avoid mistakes with Andy Dalton by gaining large chunks of yardage on the ground with Hill and Giovani Bernard.
The San Diego defense wasn't as strong against the rush, allowing Detroit rookie Ameer Abdullah to gain 50 yards and a score on just seven carries.
The Bengals aren't shy about wanting Hill to improve despite two scores last week and using this approach against San Diego. Just ask offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey.
"Jeremy's got ability, and Jeremy needs to play as good as he can play, and I know he can play better," Jackson said. "He scores two touchdowns and everybody thinks that's great. But there are some plays he left out there. He'd be the first to tell you that, so I'm not telling you something he doesn't know."
In other words, expect plenty of unbalanced lines with rookie Jake Fisher in order to outmuscle the Chargers in the trenches. Expect fewer passes down the field and more than the 19 carries Hill received last weekend.
At home, the Bengals can grind out a win if the line plays up to potential and the game plan focuses on the ground-and-pound with multiple backs.
Defensive Game Plan
For the Cincinnati defense, it's all about the pass this weekend.
San Diego doesn't present much of a threat rushing the ball. At Pro Football Focus, the Chargers ranked as the fifth-worst run-blocking team last week. To make matters worse, guard D.J. Fluker will miss the game with an injury.
To top it all off? San Diego's lead back is rookie Melvin Gordon, who rushed 14 times for 51 yards in Week 1, but he received just three carries after a third-quarter fumble. This makes Danny Woodhead the main back Cincinnati has to worry about, but from more of a pass-catching standpoint.
In fact, Woodhead was second only to Allen's 17 targets last week, receiving seven. This makes the game plan for the Bengals rather straightforward—jam Allen and Co. at the line and let Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins and others pin their ears back and apply pressure, disrupting Rivers' timing.
For defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, it's a lot like last year when the team flustered the Atlanta Falcons after a Week 1 victory.
"I told them if you want to know what I wanted our defense looking like, it would be that game," Guenther said, per Harvey. "How we flew to the ball, we mixed our looks up, we stopped the run, we got after the passer. That's what I want it eventually to look like every Sunday."
The trick for the Bengals? Let the defensive line go to work on its own. Last week, Rivers graded out the best at PFF when blitzed, so for the Bengals, bringing on an extra defensive back and letting the line disrupt timing figures to be key.
Blitzing actually opens things up for Rivers to hit guys like Johnson out of the slot and tight end Ladarius Green. Cincinnati will need to be disciplined in the short game, as a note by ESPN Stats & Info detailed:
Disruption and extra bodies will help mitigate Rivers' ability to nickel and dime his way down the field.
Of course, a ground-and-pound approach that eats the clock on offense will help, too.
Key Players and Matchups
Marvin Jones
Marvin Jones didn't do much of anything last week, tying for fourth on the team with just three targets.
It doesn't mean Jones isn't the No. 2 receiver or anything of the sort, but when Hill breezes through a defense and Tyler Eifert challenges Rob Gronkowski for fantasy football supremacy, it's hard for a No. 2 wideout to get involved.
It will need to change this week, though. After the shutdown job the Chargers did on Megatron, A.J. Green might have a hard time getting free. The Chargers are much more athletic and capable of running with Eifert than the Raiders, too, meaning Jones will need to convert on what should be plenty of opportunities with other weapons bottled up.
Leon Hall
Cincinnati slot man Leon Hall has his work cut out for him this week.
Rivers loves to target the slot and has a shiny new weapon in Johnson to do it. Last week, Johnson caught all six of his targets for 82 yards and a score. While the rest of the defense focuses on Allen and Green, Hall will need to post another strong performance to halt the chains from moving.
Geno Atkins
With Fluker out of the lineup, Atkins takes on an even bigger role this week against San Diego.
Fully healthy with his usual burst for the first time in more than a year, Atkins has looked superb so far with his explosion off the snap. The Cincinnati defense will need him to be effective each down he plays this weekend to disrupt the timing of the short passing game.
Atkins posted one sack last week in Oakland, but his importance comes where numbers don't. Even if he doesn't make the stat sheet, Atkins' ability to disrupt and let his edge defenders face one-on-one scenarios makes for one of the most important factors to watch Sunday.
Tyler Eifert
The going won't be as easy for Eifert this week. It sounds obvious considering he caught nine balls for 104 yards and two scores last week.
But Eifert will have to win his battles this weekend for the Bengals to find success. He's going to face blanket coverage when the Chargers can afford it, and Dalton won't hesitate to look his way if Green can't get open.
This means besting more jump-ball scenarios and adapting to passes into coverage. Eifert's ability to reel in multiple chain-moving grabs will only open things up for Hill and others on the ground.
Prediction
The Chargers have enough offensive weapons to give the Bengals some serious problems if Rivers has time in the pocket. The defense can be disruptive thanks to the likes of Melvin Ingram and can cover well with Jason Verrett and Eric Weddle.
Still, it's asking a lot of an injured Chargers squad to travel east for an early kickoff against one of the best teams in the league.
Atkins and the Cincinnati defense shouldn't have any issues shutting down the run. Applying consistent pressure and stopping Rivers' short passing game before the first-down marker will decide the game, and it's something a fully healthy defense (sans Vontaze Burfict, of course) should be able to accomplish.
On offense, an emphasis on the ground game will dictate the pace. So long as guys like Eifert and Jones can win matchups through the air when necessary, Hill will be in for another monster performance, and the Bengals can grind it out for a win.
Prediction: Cincinnati 24, San Diego 20
Stats courtesy of NFL.com and are accurate as of September 9. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
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