The Trench Warfare Outlook
If you enjoy watching the Cincinnati Bengals struggle with basic gap integrity, Sunday night is going to be your personal Super Bowl. The All-22 film reveals a front seven that treats run defense more like a polite suggestion than an actual job description. While the rest of the league is busy overcomplicating their schemes, Pittsburgh is leaning into something much simpler: lining up and punching them in the mouth.
Why Warren Will Eat
Jaylen Warren has a penchant for violence that is frankly refreshing in an era of finesse. Brian Angelichio’s run schemes are dialed in to exploit exactly what Cincinnati lacks: discipline. The blocking assignments are clean, the cutback lanes are wide enough to drive a semi-truck through, and Warren has the lateral agility to punish anyone who over-pursues. It is the classic case of a player fitting a scheme like a bespoke suit, while the opposition is currently wearing a borrowed, ill-fitting tarp.
The tape does not lie; Cincinnati’s front is effectively holding the door open for our ground attack to waltz right into the secondary.
Expect plenty of action from our young interior offensive line. If Mason McCormick and Zach Frazier keep their current trajectory, they will be clearing paths that allow Warren to reach the second level before the Bengals' linebackers even realize the ball has been handed off. It’s not rocket science; it’s just better, grittier football.