On Thanksgiving night in Baltimore, Derrick Henry caught a pass, broke contain and was off to the races. Like so many moments this year, Henry sprinted toward the end zone looking to pad stats against a Cincinnati Bengals defense among the worst in league history.
Only this time, Bengals 275-pound defensive end Myles Murphy ran down King Henry, made a rip at the ball and saved what could have turned into a game-changing touchdown for the Ravens.
Five plays later, on third-and-9, Murphy bulldozed Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely into Lamar Jackson’s lap, raised his arm and tipped a pass that ended up intercepted by Demetrius Knight Jr. for one of five game-changing turnovers for the Bengals.
Picked by Demetrius Knight Jr. for a 4th Baltimore turnover
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The one-two punch from Murphy provided an exclamation point on a long-awaited breakout month for the 2023 first-round pick.
“This is a hell of a play,” defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said. “Instead of letting the touchdown go, we got the stop and three or four plays later, we got an interception. That’s the difference. Running with a purpose.”
The two impactful plays provide the headline but aren’t the story. Not for Montgomery.
Instead, the real story of Murphy’s growth and remarkable recent rise out of the depths of bust-dom requires rewinding two weeks and going inside a team meeting following the 34-12 loss at Pittsburgh.
There, Murphy sat with his teammates in a dissection of the game when, suddenly, a play popped up on the screen. It was a toss left where Steelers running back Jaylen Warren broke free to the second level, cut back across the field and weaved through a stream of Bengals defenders for 35 yards.
Only, the focus of the coaches running the meeting wasn’t a sea of Bengals defenders. It highlighted Murphy. Specifically, an undeniable lack of effort chasing the play on the back side that allowed Warren to break free.
“There should never be loafs,” Montgomery said on Monday. “And 99, who did a phenomenal job (chasing down Henry in Baltimore), cut it short on that play. On a play he should have made.”
Now, he had to stomach his entire team seeing it.
“Embarrassing, to say the least,” Murphy said. “That play, that’s not how I play. That’s not how I’ve been taught to play.”
He adamantly states his coaches at Hillgrove High School in Marietta, Ga., would attest he never played that way. Same for Dabo Swinney at Clemson.
“It was kind of embarrassing to see it on the screen, the whole team sees it, the whole defense sees it, because that is not me,” Murphy said. “I don’t want to put that on tape ever again. Moving forward, this is my play style.”
Two weeks later, Murphy became one of only three NFL defensive linemen to make a tackle more than 30 yards down the field this season. And the only one to produce a pressure on the same snap.
For a player pressed to learn, develop and better tap into an inner fight capable of catapulting his freakish athleticism into an activated NFL weapon, Murphy’s reaction to the embarrassment just two weeks later explains so much of what’s happening with him right now.
He’s listening. He’s learning. He’s figuring it out.
“In order to grow as an individual, you got to be able to take criticism,” Montgomery said. “If you can’t, you will never maximize your potential. That was put out in front of the defense and discussed, and when you are a prideful individual, you come back the next week. … That was huge. All it does is build confidence and then another example to show why we do what we do, why we demand you to run to the football. Don’t run because I want you to run; run with a purpose. That is a prime example of that. Hell, he fixed it. He was able to take criticism and learn from it.”
Criticism didn’t come in short supply over the first 2 1/2 years of Murphy’s career. Top-pick expectations were met with minimal results and the growing label of a first-round bust. He battled injuries and largely played behind Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard, but when given chances, he wasn’t making the most of them. He finished 2024 without a sack.
Amid the defensive disaster over the first two months of the year was more pedestrian play from Murphy. He’d contributed just 10 pressures and 11 tackles in the first eight games, and the lack of pass rush was suffocating the disastrous defense.
When Hendrickson went down with an injury, the spotlight shone brighter on Murphy and Joseph Ossai to break through. Presented with the biggest opportunity of his NFL career, Murphy has finally started to make an impact alongside Ossai.
2025 Bengals DE pressure rates
Player
W1-8
W9-13
9.5%
15.5%
7.5%
14.3%
He’s produced nearly as many splash plays since the calendar turned to November as the first two years of his career combined.
The sack numbers show only 2 1/2 sacks, but the underlying metrics and film tell a much more disruptive story.
“Myles is playing with confidence and energy and speed right now, and there’s a lot of plays there that don’t go down in the stat book, but he’s making the quarterback step up, he’s making the quarterback redirect, and he’s using his length,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “The batted ball was huge, and that’s what we need from him.”
Murphy also ran a two-man game on a play where Ossai forced a sack-fumble of Jackson near the goal line.
He posted one game over the first 38 games of his career with at least three pressures and two tackles. He’s now ripped off four straight such games, totaling 17 pressures, 14 tackles, a sack and nine stops.
Myles Murphy, Joseph Ossai in November
Stat
Murphy
Ossai
Pass rush win%
35th
13th
True pass set win%
31st
18th
Pressure%
19th
13th
True pass set grade
22nd
4th
*Out of top 100 DL qualifiers
He’s still only 23 years old and entered the season with only 654 professional defensive snaps to his name. While the Bengals’ staff bet on his development, patience wore thin, acknowledging that talk of potential and inexperience didn’t hold weight anymore.
“It’s time, right?” Golden said of Murphy before training camp.
Murphy is on pace to finish the year with more snaps than in his first two years combined.
“I was more of a filler role where the mindset was, ‘Don’t mess up,’” Murphy said. “Now, it’s, ‘Go make plays.’ Experience is the best teacher. You can sit in the film room all you want. It’s different when you are out there with the bullets flying. That’s when you find out who you are as a player.”
Montgomery feels like he’s still finding out.
The hustle plays, physicality and tenacity down-in and down-out have allowed his impressive physical traits to shine. Not only did Murphy chase down Henry against Baltimore, but he also chased Jackson to the sideline for a third-down stop.
His size-speed combination shows up as much against the run as in win rates or pressure percentages.
“You watch him in the run game, the physicality with which he is playing,” Montgomery said. “This guy is not just catching blocks, he is knocking blocks back, getting off blocks, running to the football, he’s being violent and still has a ton of upside. Every day you get him to believe and be more confident and believe in his gift and tools, and he is doing that.”
The next step involves more of the pressures and wins Murphy has made turning into bigger plays. He had a rush against Pittsburgh where he tossed right tackle Broderick Jones aside but whiffed on hitting quarterback Mason Rudolph. It ended in a third-and-long conversion. One week later, he created a quick win to get in the face of Patriots quarterback Drake Maye but couldn’t finish in what turned into a Hunter Henry touchdown.
Montgomery points to those types of plays as his next obstacle to conquer, but his effort and willingness to keep learning suggest to Montgomery that those advancements are coming.
“I still believe there is so much more growth for him and he has made tremendous strides,” he said. “He’s building confidence. He’s building growth. Just proud of him. He’s come a long way since the first day I got here.”
Murphy doesn’t suggest he’s arrived. He says he’s done his best through all of this to block out the outside criticism, dismissals and the desire to write him off after his first two seasons.
“Everyone’s path is different,” Murphy said. “That’s in football, that’s in life. The path to whatever you think success is is different. I’m just keeping my head down and keeping my eyes in my lane and run my own race right now.”
On Thanksgiving, the finish line of his race was tracking down Henry. He said he wasn’t thinking about the loaf against Pittsburgh as his strides lengthened and he gained ground. He was merely thinking about stripping the ball out as Henry’s elbow extended from his body.
Golden called the effort play a “window to your soul” as a football player. Head coach Zac Taylor pointed out that those are “huge” because “our team sees that on film.”
Yes, everyone is seeing different film from Murphy lately. He’s finally leaving the old film — and old labels — behind.
There’s a genuine gratitude not just for proving he can make big plays, but also for merely being given the chance to create them.
“It feels good to prove it, but it feels good to have another opportunity coming up next week,” Murphy said. “As a player, that’s all I can ask for is an opportunity. Week after week, an opportunity to be healthy. Just blessed right now.”