Left side of Bengals line is doing its job

The Bengals are 40% of the way there.

They now have a left tackle and left guard that are worthy of blocking for our precious Joe Burrow.

Now if only Trey Hopkins can get back to his old self and the right side finds its way.

While the Bengals’ line has been charged with 34 total pressures, only seven of them have come from the left side. Quinton Spain has only given up one of those pressures in 61 true passing sets, making him the best left guard in pass protection so far. Jonah Williams, meanwhile, is tied with Tyron Smith for the least pressures given up.

So how likely is it that the rest of the line will be at least average sometime soon? Well, Jackson Carman is on the COVID-19 list. While he still has a bright future, it might be interesting to see what the team has in another rookie, D’Ante Smith, in Carman’s absence.

Hopkins, of course, was a serviceable center before his ACL tear late last year. It is still reasonable to predict that he will regain his form. And Riley Reiff has been a solid tackle in his career, so if he is the line’s weakest spot, that’s a good thing.

We talked about the matchup of the Bengals’ o-line with none other than former Detroit Lions nosetackle Jerry Ball. You can watch our preview below:

You can also listen on iTunes or using the player below: