Run Game

Zac Taylor said they wouldn’t run away from the run-game struggles and that was the big topic Monday with the Bengals managing just 2.4 yards per carry.

Don’t look for Taylor and Pitcher to revamp it. But they’ll throw all they’ve got at it because, as Taylor said after the game, they still need to find their identity in the run game.

Taylor on the team concept of the run:

“Whenever you talk about protection and physicality in the run game, you immediately think of just the offensive line. That’s everybody involved, that’s the backs, that’s the tight ends, that’s receivers, that’s the quarterbacks on their fakes trying to pull an extra hat and soften people up. That’s play calling, marrying things together, so you can’t tee off on people and make one phase of the offense difficult. We all play a hand in that. There’s not one person or one position group you’re going to point to. We all got to own that and be better at it moving forward. “

Pitcher on an offensive line built to protect the passer:

“That doesn’t mean that you can’t put together an effective rushing attack with the skillsets of the players we have. I firmly believe that. We have not done that to this point. There’s no getting around that. But we’re going to fight like hell to figure that part out. Because we need to.”

Karras on the need to be more physical:

“(The Vikings) were moving a lot, but we have to be more aggressive. Creating displacement. Knowing what to do and how to do it.”

Backer Rotation

Linebacker Logan Wilson took 70% of the snaps, his fewest in a game that mattered in three years, which was a blow-out win over Carolina back on Nov. 6, 2022. And he probably would have played more Sunday if the game was tighter.

But Taylor also likes the idea of giving exposure to draft picks Demetrius Knight Jr., the other starter, and Barrett Carter, who had a career-high 18 snaps in Minnesota after none the week before, when Wilson played all 71 against Jacksonville.

“That’s why we drafted (Carter),” Taylor said. “Tremendous leadership, poise, high-level intelligence. Great quickness. Ability to read and diagnose. You could use that description on a lot of linebackers in that room.

“For those young linebackers, there has never been a moment where it’s too big for those guys. They’re not going to be perfect and make mistakes and be a step slow at times, but they’ll work through it. I’ve been pleased with the progress of both those rookies.”

Wilson is coming off a knee injury that took out last year’s final month for him, but he did play 135 snaps in the first two games.

“I don’t ever think it’s a bad thing for a guy to take a break for a snap or two,” Taylor said. “The way that game was flowing, it was a great opportunity to get other guys in there and give them a chance.

“We still held out hope coming into the second half to put pressure on them to at least score some points and hold them. That didn’t really happen. It’s an opportunity to get some other guys a chance to play.”