The Cincinnati Bengals looked completely unprepared for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and the run-heavy attack on their first drive.
The Ravens ran the ball 11 times and didn’t pass once on their way to a 75-yard touchdown drive, with the Bengals making a number of strategic errors in the process. Twitter was quick to pounce, especially after head coach Marvin Lewis assumed extra responsibility over the struggling unit this past week.
Okay, the Bengals are really, really bad. Jackson drop-back, pause, takes off up the middle for gain of 21. That's just awful. No one accounted for him.
— Mike Jones (@ByMikeJones) November 18, 2018
So if the Marvin Lewis Defense is an epic failure, does he fire himself?
— Steinmann (@TheSteinMann) November 18, 2018
Glad to see the defense really respond to our new DC
— Bengals Problems (@BengalsProblems) November 18, 2018
New Bengals defensive assistant Hue Jackson: "In my expert opinion, we should run the same defense against Lamar Jackson that we would against Joe Flacco."
— Patrick Daugherty (@RotoPat) November 18, 2018
— Conor Orr ?? (@ConorOrr) November 18, 2018
There’s been plenty of talk about the newest member of the Cincinnati coaching staff, who has primarily been working with the defense. The fact that he, Lewis, and everyone else looked so thoroughly unprepared for rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson doesn’t reflect well on them.
