Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon hopes the second half is better than the first.
The first half of the season featured 101 carries for last year’s AFC leading rusher, which Mixon turned into just 320 yards (3.2) average with no scores.
Mixon says he’s excited the team gets a chance to revive the run against a rival like the Baltimore Ravens this week.
“You see these teams running the ball and they’re going heavy,” Mixon said, according to Bengals.com. “They’re going two tight ends, linemen, fullback in front and they’ve been successful. They’re into controlling the play clock. They’re controlling the game and it’s working. Yes, I would love and hope to see that. We haven’t been able to do that.”
In fact, Mixon sounds quite a bit like coach Zac Taylor when discussing the topic at all, noting that plays falling apart on first and second down, as well as falling behind early, has eliminated the running game.
Coming out of a bye, the line in front of Mixon should be healthier and the playcalling should be able to adapt away from lighter fronts and lean more into two tight end sets in an effort to spur the running game along.
If Mixon is right and can get the ground game rolling reliably, it would certainly make life easier on rookie Ryan Finley and potentially help the team win some games.
