3 Bengals players the Steelers must game plan around

DT D.J. Reader

I was skeptical when the Bengals offered a massive 4-year, $53 million contract to D.J. Reader this offseason, but so far, he has been worth every penny. At 6’3” and 347 pounds, the massive defensive tackle has been largely responsible for shutting down opposing rushing offenses to begin the season.

The Bengals only allowed two-time Pro Bowl running back, Dalvin Cook, to rush for 61 yards on 20 carries in Week 1 (3.05 yards per attempt). Reader and company proceeded by containing David Montgomery and Justin Fields to just 3.1 yards per carry in Week 2, via ESPN.

The Steelers have enough issues running the football as it is, and for the first time in forever, it seems like the Bengals might have one of the better run defenses in the NFL. Going north and south is no doubt going to be an issue in this contest, and Matt Canada will have to find creative ways to move the ball on the ground – perhaps with more pre-snap motion and jet sweeps.

D.J. Reader isn’t the only Bengals player responsible for the massive improvement in the team’s run defense this year, but he’s a big difference-maker. This could be an awful matchup against rookie Kendrick Green and Trai Turner this week, and Pittsburgh would be wise to avoid running into the mammoth in the middle.