Bengals Week 12 PFF Recap: 3 stats to know

Every week, win or lose, we'll dive into the premium stats from Pro Football Focus and identify three stats to know from the previous Cincinnati Bengals game.

A four-game win streak has suddenly turned into three consecutive losses for the Bengals. Playing without Joe Burrow is undoubtedly going to continue making things tougher to get back into the playoff picture. If Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was a sign of what's to come, then we might already be on to 2024.

Let's see what the advanced stats had to say about the Bengals' Week 12 performance.

ED Myles Murphy: Three pressures on nine pass rushing snaps

Talk about efficiency. Murphy's opportunities to rush the passer went back down this week as Sam Hubbard returned to the defense after a two-week absence. Murphy turned nine reps into four pass rush wins, and three pressures with one of them resulting in a sack on Kenny Pickett against left tackle and fellow rookie Broderick Jones.

No one had a better day getting after Pickett for the Bengals, small sample size be damned. It's about time to increase that sample size every week to conclude the season.

QB Jake Browning: 36.4% pressure to sack rate

One of every three drop backs for Browning resulted in a pressure for the Steelers' defense. That will happen when you face the likes of T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, and Alex Highsmith. What can't happen is allowing a good chunk of those pressures to turn into sacks. Browning was taken down four times out of the 11 pressures tallied. Only four other starting quarterbacks this week were sacked at a higher rate. 

Not all of them were his fault. Watt came free within two seconds for a quick sack near the end of the game. There are usually going to be isolated incidents that prevent a full-scale generalization, but if this trend continues for the rest of the season, it will be a damning indictment on Browning's decision-making and overall pocket management.

Joe Burrow has been greatly judged on how many of his pressures resulted in sacks. It's an inescapable responsibility for all quarterbacks, including Browning. 

Bengals tight ends: 0.7 yards per route run

It wasn't too long ago that the Bengals seemed to figure out how to use their tight ends. A drop off in quarterback play might make that a short-lived aberration. All four of Tanner Hudson, Irv Smith Jr., Drew Sample, and Mitchell Wilcox got involved in some capacity in the passing game during Browning's first start, and Sample's 11-yard touchdown reception was the highlight that absolutely carried the group. The foursome had just 28 receiving yards on a combined 40 routes ran.

Hudson has recently emerged as the guy at the position, and it was even a rough day for him with just 18 yards on four receptions. His average depth of target was 3.8 yards, which was still somehow the highest for any of the four tight ends Sunday.