Geno Atkins, D-Line Are Driving Force Behind Bengals' AFC Dominance

Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals finished dead last in the NFL with only 20 sacks. A year later, they are ranked among the league's best teams at getting to the quarterback and have already amassed 32 sacks with four games left to play. 

While the spotlight remains on quarterback Andy Dalton as the fulcrum point to the Bengals' season, the play of defensive tackle Geno Atkins and those around him has made the biggest difference between the Bengals simply winning a division title and actually becoming a legitimate Super Bowl contender. 

Simply put, Atkins is a monster in the middle of the Bengals defense. He sets the tone for everything the team accomplishes on defense, similar to how J.J. Watt defines the Houston Texans defense. 

"You ask anybody on [an opposing] offense, any offense that we play," Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said, per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey. "The first guy when they turn the tape on Monday morning and they look at the tape to prepare for us, they say, 'Oh s---t, we better have a plan for this guy."

This hadn't necessarily been the case over the last two seasons, though. 

Atkins suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during a Thursday night contest in Week 9 of the 2013 season against the Miami Dolphins. The general rule of thumb with that injury is it takes a player more than a year and likely a full season before he returns to form. 

After the 2012 campaign, Atkins was named a first-team All-Pro after registering 12.5 sacks. A year earlier, second-team All-Pro honors were in order. 

However, he simply didn't look like the same player last season. 

Atkins' explosiveness off the snap defines his game. After his injury, he lacked the first-step quickness he exhibited during his previous seasons. An unsteady knee also limited his natural leverage and strength advantages. This is why his play in 2014 didn't reflect his full potential. 

Last year, Atkins only managed three sacks. It matched his career low, which came during his rookie season. The difference? He played 453 more snaps in 2014 compared to his first year out of Georgia, according to Pro Football Focus. 

Now fully healthy, the Bengals defensive tackle is once again dominating the league and deserves legitimate consideration for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. 

Players	Atkins	Donald
Tackles	24	41
Stops	28	39
Sacks	8	8
QB Hits	8	14
QB Hurries	44	28

"Maybe we haven't talked about it enough, but I said earlier in the season he should be in that conversation," Guenther said last week, per Harvey. "He's done nothing not to be in there."

When compared to other defensive tackles around the league, only the St. Louis Rams' Aaron Donald can claim a similar level of play and production to Atkins. 

However, the impact of both of these players goes beyond what can be found on the stat sheet. 

For example, Atkins didn't register a single tackle or sack against the Cleveland Browns. Yet, he still dominated. 

Just ask Browns rookie guard Cameron Erving, whom Atkins continually destroyed at the point of attack. FootballEducator.com's Brandon Thorn provided an example: 

Atkins' performance against Erving became so one-sided that Cleveland eventually benched this year's 19th overall pick, and he won't start again this weekend. 

"I played like s--t, so I'm not starting," Erving said, per Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan's Daryl Ruiter. 

This is what happens when an inferior opponent tries to slow Atkins. 

But the defensive tackle's constant disruptive presence makes the Bengals defense better as a whole.

The NFL values pass-rushers highly and interior pass-rushers even more. Sure, edge-rushers are counted among the league's most highly paid players. However, a player who can consistently collapse the pocket is even rarer than those who can come screaming off the edge with enough length, athleticism and flexibility to blow up an opponent's passing game. 

Interior rushers are usually lacking in some area. Most 300-pound space-eaters lack the quickness or athleticism necessary to pressure the quarterback consistently. There are a few rare exceptions, and Atkins is one of them. 

What makes a quarterback more uncomfortable than edge pressure? Pressure up the middle in his face or at his feet. 

This is what Atkins consistently brings to the defense. Because he's doing so this year, the rest of the Bengals defense is applying more pressure as a whole without having to blitz on a regular basis. Sunday's performance proved to be a perfect example. 

"We went one-on-one. We didn't blitz a lot [Sunday]," defensive end Wallace Gilberry said, per Harvey. "Up front, we just put it in our heads to 'let's go ahead and take care of business.'" 

When defensive linemen are winning one-on-one battles, the team doesn't need to scheme ways to create pressure on the quarterback. 

"According to ESPN Stats & Information, only three times this season have the Bengals blitzed more than 10 times in a game," Harvey noted. "Across the past six games, in which they've allowed just 12.3 points, the Bengals have blitzed an average 7.8 times."

With a strong front, the secondary benefits from not having to cover as long. Plus, Guenther can usually drop an extra man or two into coverage. The Bengals surrender 240.3 passing yards per game, which is a slight improvement over last season. 

A defense doesn't necessarily have to be aggressive defensively if it has the horses up front to dominate. 

Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

As a group, the Bengals' starting defensive linemen have each equaled or surpassed last year's individual totals. 

"It’s very refreshing because we’re playing great as a defensive unit," defensive end Carlos Dunlap said last month, per Cincinnati.com's Jim Owczarski. "We see how key it is to have the d-line playing the way they are. That’s why they give us the big bucks to do our job. The combination of our coverage (too), like I said, they’re giving us time. They’re not all just great pass rushes. Some of them are coverage sacks."

Dunlap has 9.5 sacks this season. 

Usually, the balance within a unit can be upset when someone new is added to the equation. However, fellow defensive end Michael Johnson isn't exactly a new face. 

Johnson left Cincinnati over a year ago to sign a five-year, $43.98 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The experiment lasted only one season, as Johnson underperformed, and the organization released him in March. 

The Georgia Tech product then signed a four-year, $24 million contract to return to Cincinnati. During his initial five seasons, Johnson registered 26.5 sacks. His return to the defensive line rotation has been a major improvement as Dunlap's bookend. 

The familiarity within this group reflects in its level of play. 

"We’re a close-knit group, man," Gilberry said, per Owczarski. "I must say that. We’re a close-knit group and we have a lot of self-respect for each other, first and foremost. It allows us to play the way we play. It allows us to come in, no matter who’s beside you, I trust him."

While this conversation centered mostly on getting to the quarterback in a passing league, an elite defensive front doesn't simply apply pressure on passing downs. It also stops the run. The Bengals are giving up nearly 20 fewer yards per game on the ground this season compared to last. 

At this point, it's not hard to argue the Bengals boast the league's best defensive line.

Atkins and his crew might not receive the same type of attention as Watt and his Texans. They're certainly not as aggressive as the Broncos' No. 1-ranked defense. And they don't feature a bunch of former first-round picks. But, this group came together this year and is playing at another level. 

Dalton, wide receiver A.J. Green and even tight end Tyler Eifert have been spectacular this season. The game, however, is won in the trenches. The Bengals offensive line was already up to the task as one of the league's best. Now, the defensive line can now claim the same.

Cincinnati is ready to take the next step as a franchise, and the organization can thank Atkins and the defensive line for putting it in position to do so. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @brentsobleski.