Bengals OT Amarius Mims Building Confidence, Pride After Impressive Showing vs. T.J. Watt and the Steelers

CINCINNATI – Joe Flacco’s incredible speed reading of the playbook and Ja’Marr Chase’s franchise record 16 catches Thursday night have attracted most of the attention since the Cincinnati Bengals’ 33-31 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The hoopla has been so intense it’s almost done the impossible, causing people to overlook 6-foot-8, 350-pound right tackle Amarius Mims.

Mims, with the help of Flacco’s quick decision making, held Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt to four pressures and a half sack Thursday night.

But Mims wasn’t taking any sort of victory lap.

“Just being very critical of myself, there's some small things I think I can get better at and I can fix,” Mims said. “I feel like I could've completely shut him out.

“But against a guy who's a future Hall of Famer, I do feel like we did a good job as an O-line limiting him as much as possible,” Mims added.

He laughed when asked if he could have turned in that kind of performance last year as a rookie.

“Rookie year Amarius didn't know the things that he knows now,” Mims said. “That's thanks to the whole O-line. That's thanks to Scott Peters and Mike McCarthy helping me get better week by week. And it's a testament to the offense, just going out there and handling business and getting a win.”

Offensive line coach Dan Pitcher said it was the best game of the year for tackles Orlando Brown Jr. and Mims.

Pitcher pointed to the physical improvement as much as the mental growth he’s seen from Mims in his second season.

“I’m just really pleased with the physicality he's playing with, the energy he's playing with,” Pitcher said. “We talk all the time with him about just how it's all there for him. He's got rare ability and his response to that has been really good, and just happy with the direction he's good and knowing he's a young player.

“He's going to hit roadblocks, so how can you sustain that level of energy and effort,” Pitcher continued. “He's doing a good job of that.”

Asked about the growth he’s seen from Mims and how it compares to what he experienced early in his career, Karras laughed at the idea of comparing the two.

“I didn’t start until my fourth year. Mims and I are not the same,” Karras said. “But one of the oldest adages in the NFL is one of the biggest years of improvement is between Year 1 and Year 2, and he's playing like a veteran for us.

“He’s playing like a first-round pick, veteran franchise right tackle,” Karras added. “That's who he is, and that's who we always need him to be.”

Karras said that although he’s never played tackle, he understands how difficult the position is anywhere in the NFL, and especially in Cincinnati with how often the Bengals throw the ball.

Not to mention having two offensive line coaches in his first two seasons and the pressure and expectations that come with being the No. 17 overall pick.

Based on all of that, he ranks Mims among the elite of the elite.

“There’s probably only 120 dudes on the planet that can play offensive tackle in the NFL,” Karras said. “You put that in this offense, and the list goes down to about 10.

“So I’m really proud of him,” Karras continued. “He’s emerging as a leader and as a young star for this franchise, so I’m excited for him and for us.”

In addition to the pass blocking, Mims and the Cincinnati offense ran the ball as well as they have all year.

The 142 rushing yards against the Steelers were a season high by 57 yards.

And the 6.2 yards per carry were tied for the most since 2020.

“It was amazing seeing Chase, seeing Samaje, even seeing Joe when he pulled the ball and ran,” Mims said. “It's just a breath of fresh air. We work so hard. To see the work that we've been putting in, the work the backs have been putting in just come to life, man, it was amazing. That's exactly what we wanted to do, and what better time to do it.”