The Rams provided Bengals with blueprint on how to protect Joe Burrow | Opinion
LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Rams acquired edge rusher Von Miller at the trade deadline this season, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor texted Rams head coach Sean McVay.
At the time, the Bengals had an upcoming game against the Denver Broncos, Miller’s former team. The Rams weren’t on the Bengals' schedule.
Since Taylor was thinking he wouldn’t have to face Miller in 2021, he thanked McVay for making the move.
“I remember texting Sean (McVay) at the time, ‘Great pickup,’ because we were about to play Denver,” Taylor said last week. “Little did I know that he would come back (to play the Bengals) in the Super Bowl.”
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Miller, one of the best edge rushers in the NFL, made one of the most important plays of the game. On third-and-9 from the Bengals' 34-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Miller spun past Bengals right guard Hakeem Adeniji for a drive-ending sack on quarterback Joe Burrow.
Burrow stayed down on the field after the play and limped off the field. The Bengals quarterback returned to the game, but Miller’s pass rush moves on the edge freed up opportunities for Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald for the rest of the game.
Without Miller, the Rams likely wouldn’t be Super Bowl champions. The Bengals couldn’t block both Miller and Donald in the second half.
“We started bringing a little more pressure, getting some one-on-ones,” Rams safety Eric Weddle said. “You could tell in the second half (Donald) was getting one-on-ones by some of our looks and disguises and setting the front…. (We got our) best players a chance to win one-on-one battles.”
The Miller trade was one of the most aggressive trade deadline moves of the last few years. The Rams were already extremely short on draft picks after dealing for quarterback Matthew Stafford and cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
The Rams dealt a second-round pick and a third-round pick for Miller. By trading so many picks for three stars, the Rams went all-in on winning the Super Bowl this season.
Stafford and Miller are both in their 30s, but the Rams mortgaged their future to add two stars nearing the end of their primes.
“I think it’s a lot of good decisions stacked on one another,” McVay said. “I also think it's a lot of really mentally tough and special people finding a way to be at their best in those critical moments.”
How the Bengals can get back to the Super Bowl
To get back to the Super Bowl next season and cross the finish line, the Bengals need to act more like the Rams.
The Bengals will never be in a better position to add Pro Bowl talent. With Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Logan Wilson on rookie deals, the Bengals enter the offseason with some of the most salary cap flexibility in the NFL.
The Rams added the final pieces for their Super Bowl run by trading for a quarterback and an edge rusher. The Bengals have an even clearer need on the offensive line. Entering 2022, the Bengals have potential openings at every offensive line position except for left tackle.
Left guard Quinton Spain was on a one-year deal near the minimum. Center Trey Hopkins took a significant step back after returning from ACL surgery. The Bengals never found a starting right guard, and right tackle Riley Reiff is a pending free agent.
The Bengals' most promising young offensive linemen are left tackle Jonah Williams and offensive guard Jackson Carman, who didn’t play in the Super Bowl. This offseason, the Bengals might need to retool an entire offensive line around Williams.
The good news for the Bengals is that many of the best teams in the NFL are building their lines through trades and free agency.
Last offseason, three of the most highly regarded offensive linemen at the time who changed teams were dealt via a trade. Left tackles Orlando Brown and Trent Brown, offensive guard Gabe Jackson and center Rodney Hudson all were traded before the start of training camp.
Those four players all would likely have started for the 2021 Bengals. Every year, a few offensive linemen in that tier are traded to teams willing to take on a higher salary.
Four additional offensive linemen were dealt for draft picks last offseason, which allowed some of the best teams in the NFL to build veteran lines.
In the Super Bowl, the Rams started linemen with 16, 7, 4, 3 and 3 years of experience.
The San Francisco 49ers made it to the NFC championship game with one of the best lines in the league. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams joined the 49ers via a trade in 2020, left guard Laken Tomlinson was dealt to the 49ers in 2017, and center Alex Mack signed with the 49ers in free agency.
The Kansas City Chiefs traded for a Pro Bowler in Brown, signed star offensive guard Joe Thuney to a big free agent contract and added guard Kyle Long in free agency.
Cincinnati overcame the weakness of its unproven offensive line to make it to the Super Bowl, but Burrow took too many hits against the Rams. He took seven sacks, and Donald powered right through Spain for a game-sealing turnover on downs.
This offseason, the Bengals will have the flexibility to fix their biggest flaw. For the Bengals to get back to this stage and win the game when they get back to the Super Bowl, they’d likely benefit from being the team that’s all in.
“You don’t want your quarterback to get hit one time, let alone how many times it was,” Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah said. “That’s probably going to be a point of emphasis coming up.”