Brown, Stone Take On Former Team
Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. will face Baltimore for a fourth time since he last played for the Ravens in 2020, while safety Geno Stone is set to meet his former side for the first time since signing with the Bengals as a free agent this offseason.
A former third-round pick by the Ravens who earned a pair of Pro Bowl selections while in Baltimore, Brown is playing perhaps at the highest level of his career. Per the NFL’s Next Gen Stats service, he is allowing the lowest pressure rate among any left tackle in the league so far this season at 3.4 percent (minimum 75 pass blocking snaps). Brown and the Bengals offensive line are coming off a clean sheet at Carolina, as the unit held the Panthers to zero sacks while blocking for 373 yards of offense.
Stone emerged as a premier ball-hawking safety in 2023, his final season with the Ravens. He led the AFC and ranked second leaguewide with a career-high seven interceptions, highlighted by a streak of four straight games with a pick. He has 18 tackles and a pass defensed for Cincinnati this season and enters Week 5 still searching for his first takeaway.
Wilson Among League’s Top Tacklers
Logan Wilson’s 43 tackles this season are not only tied for the fourth-most in the NFL heading into Week 5, they are the most by a Bengals player in the first four games of a season since at least 1994. He is the first Cincinnati defender to log nine or more tackles in four straight contests to open a season since former linebacker Dhani Jones in 2008.
Wilson is the only Bengal this season to line up for every single one of the team’s 259 defensive snaps. His 11 career interceptions are the most by any linebacker since he entered the league in 2020, but he remains on the hunt for his first pick of 2024.
Rookies Stepping Up
Cincinnati’s rookie class added several key contributions in the win at Carolina. Namely, first-round draft pick Amarius Mims made his first NFL start at right tackle and lined up for all 67 offensive snaps, helping Brown and company hold the Panthers without a sack.
The Bengals’ following pick in April, Kris Jenkins Jr., made his presence felt early on when he was credited with a tackle on a crucial fourth-and-goal stop at the one-yard line to end the Panthers’ opening drive.
Fourth-round pick Erick All Jr. has impressed his coaches already while showing his skill set as a versatile tight end. All has caught each of his 12 targets this season, but his most notable moments have come as a blocker, as he has been a major factor in Cincinnati using 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) on 29 percent of its plays this year, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
Last but certainly not least, undrafted punter Ryan Rehkow continued his red-hot start to his pro career in Week 4. After a record-setting debut on Sept. 8 vs. New England, he punted three times for 170 yards against the Panthers, good for a gross average of 56.7 yards. Two of his boots were downed inside the Carolina 20-yard line, including a 63-yarder in the third quarter that traveled from the Bengals’ 22 to the Panthers’ 15.