What the Bengals can learn from Kansas City’s Super Bowl failure
Poor Patrick Mahomes was running for his life the entire Super Bowl, first this way, then that, trying to evade the rush of the hunters in white jerseys, making last-minute flips of the football at ridiculous arm angles only to see the football fall incomplete.
On the other sideline, Tom Brady stood clean as a whistle, his jersey near spotless, his back having only touched the ground but once or twice, his gleaming smile lighting up the entire Tampa Stadium.
Let the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 31-9 trouncing of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV be a lesson to the NFL team up the road, the Cincinnati Bengals.
Job 1: Protect the quarterback.
It all starts up front, and Kansas City was missing its two starting offensive tackles on Sunday. Both right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and left tackle Eric Fisher had been lost to injuries, Fisher when he tore his Achilles late in Kansas City’s AFC title game victory over Buffalo.
The Chiefs tried to compensate by moving right guard Mike Remmers to left tackle. Andrew Wylie, an undrafted free agent signed four years ago, made his second start at right tackle on Sunday. Not exactly an ideal setup, especially against an ever-improving Tampa Bay pass rush.
The result for the Chiefs was three field goals and zero touchdowns. Constantly under pressure, Mahomes completed just 26 of his 49 passes for only 270 yards. He was intercepted twice — one when former UK defensive back Mike Edwards’ deflection ended up in the arms of a Bucs teammate. Mahomes was sacked three times for 27 yards, but under duress four times that.
According to ESPN State and Info, Mahomes was pressured on 29 of his 56 drop-backs, the most in Super Bowl history. Brady was pressured on just four of his 30 drop-backs, the fewest of his Super Bowl career.
“The biggest thing was trying to take away the first read,” said Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, which forced Mahomes to hold onto the ball, giving time for the Bucs’ defensive front to take advantage of the Chiefs’ depleted offensive line.
But back to the Bengals. I have seen several NFL 2021 mock drafts predicting Cincinnati will use its fifth overall pick to select more weapons for quarterback Joe Burrow. LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been a popular name associated with the Bengals and that early pick. If not Chase, some have projected Florida tight end Kyle Pitts. Both are terrific players.
But the skill of the Bengals’ receivers won’t make much difference if Burrow is forced to play behind the same O-line as a year ago. The Bengals need help up front and lots of it. They need a Penei Sewell out of Oregon or a Rashawn Slater out of Northwestern or a Christian Darrisaw out of Virginia Tech.
Look at what their rivals, the Cleveland Browns, did a year ago. To better protect quarterback Baker Mayfield and clear some running room for Nick Chubb, the Browns signed free agent right tackle Jack Conklin, traded for guard Wyatt Teller and used their 10th overall pick to select Alabama left tackle Jedrick Wills, the former Lafayette High School star.
The result? Under new coach Kevin Stefanski, Mayfield threw for 26 touchdowns, compared to just eight interceptions. Chubb rushed for 1,067 yards, with Kareem Hunt adding 841 more. And the Browns went 11-5 for their first playoff berth since 2002. They even beat Pittsburgh in the wild-card round before losing to Kansas City in the divisional playoffs.
That’s the example Cincinnati should follow. The alternative? Ask Patrick Mahomes.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 11:20 AM.
