At pretty much the quarter-pole of the NFL season, you'd have to say edge Boye Mafe has proven to be worthy of the Bengals' biggest free-agent deal.
After he led them with three pressures Sunday of Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence, Mafe jacked his season total to 18. And, according to Next Gen Stats, that's good for seventh in the league, right between Raider Maxx Crosby's 20 and old friend from the Ravens Trey Hendrickson's 17 pressures.
Those two All-Pros got a lot of attention on the market during the offseason while Mafe quietly signed a three-year deal in Cincinnati that got dwarfed by the Dexter Lawrence II trade. Mafe on the edge and Lawrence in the middle is working just fine.
Mafe had a sack Sunday, his second, one more than Hendrickson and the same as Crosby, while Lawrence's three sacks trail only the four of the Browns' Mason Graham among defensive tackles.
On the first play of the game, Mafe stuffed Trevor Lawrence's pass and was rewarded with some chip blocks from the Jags looking to protect their tackles.
"If you're not adjusting, not adapting, you're lacking," Mafe said Monday. "It's like the old saying. Insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results."
Mafe said the Bengals changed it up by "starting to switch up the picture on them. If they're going to chip me, someone is going to be free. And if you don't, I'll be free. They key is to put them in positions that you're comfortable and they're not."
A big reason the Bengals were attracted to Mafe is because he sets a strong edge in the run game and that's where his biggest play of the day came. After quarterback Joe Burrow's red-zone interception, the Bengals forced a punt on third-and-eight when Mafe dropped running back Chris Rodriguez Jr., for a two-yard loss.
On the edge, only Texans Pro Bower Will Anderson has at least 18 quarterback pressures and four stuffs, like Mafe. Those four stuffs are tied for third in the league behind Luke Van Ness (7) and Anderson (5).
"I was playing the ball," Mafe said. "At the end of the day, we saw what they were coming out in and saw that they ran the ball and guys just rallied to the ball."
While Mafe encountered some chips, tackles Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen had nice days with a combined four quarterback hits.
"I thought that group did some great things. We've got some good depth," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. "We've got a good front line. I thought they played really well for us. We ask them to set the tone for us. First play of the game, Boye wins, hits the quarterback. Almost causes a turnover. I thought they did a good job."
Depth Charge
The Bengals attacked their issues at safety with seasoned pros they know, and they leaped at the chance. Special teams ace P.J. Jules got his first NFL start with eight scrimmage snaps under his belt in three seasons. He responded with 40 snaps to go with 15 more on special teams and had four tackles. Practice squad safety Russ Yeast also got 22 snaps after not playing in a game since 2024, and while he was in coverage on 12 snaps, Jules was in on 19 and they combined to allow just one 15-yard catch, via Pro Football Focus.
"I thought they rose to the challenge," Taylor said. "I thought they filled in nicely. Guys played in different roles. Guys playing more of a role than they had in the past. That was encouraging to see the next-man-up mentality. Guys taking advantage of their opportunities in a lot of different areas on our team."
Running Thoughts
The week's big theme emerged Monday with alarm bells from the run numbers. Taylor agreed with Karras that the first four games are a prelude to finding an identity.
"Part of it through four weeks, you're finding what your identity is going to be for the whole year," Taylor said. "I think, first quarter of the season, you've got a snapshot of, OK, here are some things that we can continue to emphasize. Here are some things that we need. And so we have to improve at them. We can't just abandon them. And find what our identity is going to be these last three quarters of the season.
"We don't hesitate to put our ego in front of anything and say, 'Well, we said this and so this is what we'll hammer home.' We'll be smart enough to adjust and do what's best for our offense to score points."
The Bengals have done it before in mid-year, most famously on the flight to London to play the Rams during Taylor's first year in 2019 when they ripped up the running game halfway through the season.
Fast forward to this spring and summer and the grinding work in transitioning to a more diversified offense that runs the ball from under center more. Yet through four games, they lead the NFL in 180 shotgun plays after Sunday's outing Burrow threw it 54 times and the running backs ran it 12.
But Pitcher indicated Monday that was more of a product of what the Jags defense presented rather than a shift in philosophy.
"I don't think the way we played the game yesterday is a sustainable strategy for long-term success. I do think we chose to play the game yesterday in a way that gave us the best chance to win yesterday," said Pitcher, who believes the run game issues don't stem from one factor.
"I think that's a layered, nuanced answer that probably changes in every instance. You need to look at what the issues are. Is it an understanding of what's being asked? Is it the physical execution? Is it the in-game decision-making …. I think there's probably a little bit of all those things (this time). It's our job as coaches to evaluate where we're at in any given moment in a season, in a game, and make the decisions that we think are going to best lead us in the right direction. I know that's a long, non-answer but there's a lot of shades of truth in there."
Slants and Screens
As is his custom on Mondays, Zac Taylor didn't say much on injuries, and that's the way it is when it comes to the status of wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase (concussion) and Tee Higgins (abductor) for Sunday's game (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX 19) in Miami against the winless Dolphins …
"We'll take them day-to-day," said Taylor, who said that's good news that Higgins is on a day-to-day watch. …
Same thing with safety Bryan Cook (ankle) after he was inactive vs. the Jags …
Taylor said backup safety Kyle Dugger (quad), also out last Sunday, is now week-to-week, but didn't have an update for this one …
Also no update on cornerback Ja'Sir Taylor (hamstring), eligible to come off injured reserve this week …
Taylor did say rookie wide receiver Colbie Young (knee), also out vs. Jags, is coming around faster than he thought …
Even though the Bengals had a shot to win in the last minute Sunday, center and captain Ted Karras said Monday he had "a pit in his stomach," comparable to the one he had after the Bengals' 48-10 loss in Minnesota last season in the third game.
On that day the Bengals rushed for 52 of their 171 yards while allowing four sacks and nine quarterback hits. On Sunday, Burrow praised the protection that yielded two sacks and nine other hits on 54 passes. But there was no praise in the O-line room.
"Well below our standards as an offensive line. We've got learn from it," Karras said. "I don't think we passed up stunts very well. We gave up too many hits. Everyone had a turn doing something that equates to 17 points, which isn't going to get it done. I think our defense gave us a winning effort with 22 points against the Jags. Should come out of it with a win.
"It was a very honest, brutal Monday. All five of us aren't feeling very good today. We were honest with each other."
The Bengals rushed for a Zac Taylor-low 23 yards on 15 carries and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said Monday that kind of style isn't "sustainable."
"We have to do a better job of communication and that starts with me up front," Karras said of the run. "What we did communicate to the guys today is that we did have a chance to win at the end and that maybe would have covered up some of this stuff. As a unit, we felt it was below our standard and we've got to get better.
"September football is over and we'll start declaring who we are. Our identity is 2-2. Not good enough with a chance to get a winning record going into the break."
The bye comes after Miami …
The O-Line might have been down on itself, but right guard Dalton Risner (knee) had the kind of gut-check that impacts. Injured on the last play of the Steelers game trying to recover a fumble, Risner barely practiced last week and went out and played all 76 snaps …
According to PFF, Risner held up allowing three pressures on 54 passes …
"I was just proud of Dalton for fighting through there. It was a tough week for him," Taylor said. "He did not want to sit the game out. I appreciated that. I thought he did a good job for us. I'm sure, talking to him, not a perfect game. There were things he had limitations on. I was grateful that he went out there and battled out for us." …
