Top 5 Rushing Matchups
Cincinnati vs Arizona
The Bengals proved to everyone last week that, despite the season not going according to plan, they have no plans to quit, as they rebounded nicely after being shut out in Week 15 with a 45-point explosion in Week 16 against Miami. Chase Brown was effective, but has fallen back into the trap of the 10-13 carry per game range instead of the 15+ that we saw in the three-game stretch from Weeks 11-13. Where he has excelled is as a receiver, as the team has been trying to find different ways to get Brown the ball, as he has at least four receptions in three of his last four games. At 846 yards, the team has to be at least thinking about a 1,000-yard season from Brown, which would be a career-high after he fell just 10 yards short in 2024. If there is a bright spot for the Bengals in the 2025 season, it is that their offensive line has shown signs of improvement compared to earlier in this season. Amarius Mims, who was one of the league’s worst tackles to start the year, has improved enough to at least be at a league-average level, while rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild has shown signs of improvement as well.
Arizona has been abysmal for a while now, but its run defense has simply been non-existent. This was a run defense that started the season strong, but over the course of the last three weeks has allowed a staggering 180 rushing yards per game, which is 27 yards more than the next-worst team in Cleveland. Last week, both Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier ran for more than 75 yards, while Robinson added an additional 92 yards receiving as the duo totaled 247 yards from scrimmage. In Weeks 14 and 15, both Blake Corum and Jawhar Jordan topped 100 yards rushing against Arizona. The team continues to play Darius Robinson, who was the team’s 2024 first-round pick and is one of the worst defensive linemen in the NFL, while Dalvin Tomlinson is having a career-worst season after he was brought in to solidify the middle of this defense. At linebacker, neither Akeem Davis-Gaither nor Cody Simon provides a consistent run-stopping threat. At safety, Budda Baker is a solid run defender, but the problem is that the Cardinals are being forced to play two rookies at cornerback, so Baker has had to focus more of his attention on pass coverage to help Will Johnson and Denzel Burke due to the injuries to this team. The team may also be without Baker this week as he missed practice on Wednesday with a concussion. For a defensive-minded coach, this seems like a team that will be in search of a new head coach in a few weeks, given how poorly this team has played defensively this season and how they’ve now lost seven in a row.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland