Andrew Whitworth on verge of impressive record, Clint Boling following suit

While Andrew Whitworth has been in the news this week for his take on media locker room access and naked television appearance, he should be getting talked about for his play along the Bengals' offensive line.

Even at the age of 33, Whitworth is still playing not only like one of the best offensive tackles in football, but is doing so as the all-important blindside protector. Left tackle is viewed as one of the most important positions in the NFL, and Whitworth is as good as anyone playing that position.

While the national media and even Whitworth's NFL peers around the league don't often recognize his play, Pro Football Focus is always giving the big man the love he deserves. PFF currently has Whitworth ranked as their fifth-best tackle, and they're also keeping track of the impressive streak he's on of pass-blocking snaps without allowing a sack.

According to their statistics, Whitworth hasn't allowed a sack in his last 819 snaps, the best active streak in the NFL. Jets tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson has the next highest streak, but he's way behind at 563 snaps without allowing a sack. In fact, Whitworth's streak is the third best PFF has ever recorded (since the start of 2007 season). Only Texans tackle Duane Brown (899) and Broncos tackle Ryan Clady (827) have had longer streaks.

Since the Bengals are on a bye week, Whitworth won't have a chance to extend his streak until Week 8 at Pittsburgh against a Steelers team that's tied (with the Bengals) for the sixth-most sacks this season (17). That will be followed by a matchup with the Browns on Thursday Night Football, a team who has just 10 sacks this season. The Bengals Week 10 matchup is against a Texans team with only nine sacks.

If Whitworth makes it through those three games without allowing a sack, he'll have the record of most consecutive pass-blocking snaps without allowing his quarterback to be taken down. While it's a record that only applies from 2007 to now, it's still a very impressive streak that shows just how important Whitworth has been for the Bengals.

Whitworth isn't the only Bengals player with an impressive streak of not allowing a sack. Clint Boling has also gone 360 snaps without allowing one, the most of any active left guard. Boling is quietly having a great season as well after signing a five-year, $26-million deal this offseason to remain in Cincinnati. He's also PFF's eighth-ranked offensive guard.

Surprisingly, Boling's high grade is more for his run-blocking (86.9 percent efficiency) than his pass-blocking (78.2 percent efficiency). He was known more for being a good pass-blocker and a so-so run-blocker early on in his career, but he's improved dramatically in that area over the past two seasons.

All of this is a big reason why the Bengals' offensive line is still among the NFL's best, as is the entire team after their 6-0 start.