09-05-2021 Ravens Preview - Flipbook - Page 15
NFL2021
CINCINNATI
BENGALS
COACH
ZacTaylor(3rd season with team, 6-25-1)
LAST SEASON
4-11-1 (4th in AFC North; no playoffs)
Record since 2011: 77-80-3 (0-4 in playoffs)
15
2020 TEAM STATISTICAL LEAGUE RANKINGS
2020 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
SCORING OFFENSE
29th of 32 (19.4 ppg)
RUSHING
Joe Mixon: 119 carries, 428 yards, 3 TDs, 71.3 ypg
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SCORING DEFENSE
22nd of 32 (26.5 ppg)
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RUSHING OFFENSE
24th of 32 (104.3 ypg)
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PASSING OFFENSE
27th of 32 (215.5 ypg)
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PASSING
Joe Burrow: 264-404, 2,688 yards, 13 TDs, 5 ints, 283.0 ypg
SCORING
Randy Bullock, PK: 87 points (21 FGs, 24 PATs, 7.3 ppg)
Stats from pro-football-reference.com
Back on the attack
Confident, healthy Mixon wants lead role again
By Mitch Stacy
Associated Press
J
Bengals running back Joe Mixon pulls away for a touchdown during a game against the Jaguars
on Oct. 4, 2020, in Cincinnati. EMILEE CHINN/AP
oe Mixon’s imagination is soaring right
along with his confidence.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ top running
back has rebounded from a foot injury that
sidelined him for the final 10 games of the
2020 season. He looks healthy and strong
early in training camp.
And Mixon is so enthusiastic about the
team’s potential that he’s floating a nickname
for himself and the other featured offensive
players, including quarterback Joe Burrow
and receivers Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins and
Ja’Marr Chase.
He sees them as touchdown-scoring
wonders known far and wide as the Fabulous Five.
“I was thinking about the Fantastic Four,
with me, Ja’Marr, Tee and (Boyd),” the
25-year-old Mixon said. “But I can’t forget
about my dog Joey B, so I had to throw the
Fabulous Five in there.”
Don’t start printing up the T-shirts just
yet. Burrow is still struggling to get his bearings after major knee surgery last December. Chase, the fifth overall pick in this year’s
draft, has yet to play a down in the NFL. And
Cincinnati’s offensive line, which will have
a big say in how fabulous the five get to be, is
still a work in progress.
But there is the potential for explosiveness, and Mixon sees himself being the tip
of the spear again.
“That’s five people that are real big-play
guys, home-run guys,” he said. “Everybody
got to touch the ball but at the same time, I
know I’m going to put the load on my back
and take the initiative of carrying the team.
It’s always going to start up front and with
me and how physical that I’m coming and
playing the game. I’m going to set the tone.”
A second-round draft pick in 2017, Mixon
piled up more than 1,100 yards rushing in
both 2018 and 2019 even as the Bengals and
their offensive line flailed. Last season he
had one notable game — 151 yards and two
touchdowns in a 33-25 win over Jacksonville on Oct. 4 — before going down with the
right foot injury two weeks later in Indianapolis.
He tried to make it back, but with the
Bengals securely stowed in the AFC North
basement, coaches told him to shut it down
and focus on getting ready for 2021.
“Last year was definitely tough,” Mixon
said. “It sucked because I couldn’t be there
for my team. They needed me, I needed
them. I was definitely in a bad state.”
Mixon, a two-down back through his fouryear career with the Bengals, is also about to
get more responsibility.
Cincinnati released reliable third-down
back Giovani Bernard, so coaches will
expect Mixon to be in the game on third
down to catch passes or provide protection
for Burrow, who was beaten up and finally
injured seriously by pass rushers the Bengals
couldn’t seem to stop last season.
2021 SCHEDULE WEEK 10 BYE
WEEK 1
Sept. 12
WEEK 2
Sept. 19
WEEK 3
Sept. 26
WEEK 4
Sept. 30
WEEK 5
Oct. 10
WEEK 6
Oct. 17
WEEK 7
Oct. 24
WEEK 8
Oct. 31
WEEK 9
Nov. 7
WEEK 11
Nov. 21
WEEK 12
Nov. 28
WEEK 13
Dec. 5
WEEK 14
Dec. 12
WEEK 15
Dec. 19
WEEK 16
Dec. 26
WEEK 17
Jan. 2
WEEK 18
Jan. 9
MIN
1 p.m.
FOX
@CHI
1 p.m.
FOX
@PIT
1 p.m.
CBS
JAX
8:20 p.m.
NFL
GB
1 p.m.
FOX
@DET
1 p.m.
FOX
@BAL
1 p.m.
CBS
@NYJ
1 p.m.
CBS
CLE
1 p.m.
CBS
@LVR
4:05 p.m.
CBS
PIT
1 p.m.
CBS
LAC
1 p.m.
FOX
SF
1 p.m.
CBS
@DEN
4:05 p.m.
CBS
BAL
1 p.m.
CBS
KC
1 p.m.
CBS
@CLE
1 p.m.
CBS
Note: This section was printed before final roster cuts, so personnel are subject to change; all times are Eastern and subject to change