“I’m able to do more,” Awuzie said. “I’m able to take more and more responsibility, make more plays.”
The Bengals will need a big game from Awuzie and the rest of the secondary Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs (11-4) come to Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals have a chance to lock up the AFC North title with a win but have to figure out a way to slow an explosive Chiefs offense to do so.
Kansas City has won eight straight games while cutting down turnovers and becoming the league’s best at converting third downs. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 4,310 yards and 33 touchdowns. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce have both topped 1,000 yards receiving.
“The biggest key is no unforced errors, no mental mistakes,” Awuzie said when asked what will be the key to containing the Chiefs. “They make a great play in one-on-one tight coverage or someone misses a tackle, you just want to make sure everyone’s in the place they need to be before the play starts. There’s no mental errors. A lot of times, they freestyle after the first play is done, Mahomes is able to move around in the pocket and let people lose their eyes, their leverage. All of a sudden, it’s a 70-yard bomb. The biggest thing is stay disciplined throughout the whole play and put yourself in the best position to succeed.”
Statistically, the Bengals have the third worst passing defense in the league at 252.8 yards per game.
Awuzie said he doesn’t look at the statistics, but the scoring defense is the better indicator of how successful the defense has been. The Bengals sit at 9-6 and are among the top half in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 21.6 points per game.
This week, the focus is on playing better third-down defense. The Ravens converted 6 of 11 third down plays (54.5 percent) in the 41-21 loss to the Bengals last week, and Cincinnati has allowed opponents to convert 40.4 percent of third-down plays this season. Kansas City leads the league with a 51.7 percent conversion rate on third down.
“If you look at third down this year, I think we’ve done a pretty good job,” Awuzie said. “Obviously with the Chiefs, I think they’re No. 1 in the league on third down conversion rate. But you look at some of the losses that they’ve had, they haven’t done really good on third down, so that’s gonna be a big emphasis on our part, to make sure everyone’s on their P’s and Q’s and throwing different stuff at Mahomes.”
Bengals safety Vonn Bell said Kansas City is doing a better job eliminating turnovers -- the Chiefs had 19 turnovers in the first eight games over a 4-4 start and only six in the seven games since – but Mahomes also is doing better reading the coverage and getting receivers out in space.
“He can throw it no-look, on the roll,” Bell said. “They got a strong arm, trust his arm and trust his guys to run underneath it. He’ll try to flutter it out there, they’ve got fast guys. They trust him. That’s what you see.”
Hill’s speed is a problem, but Awuzie thinks he is ready to chase him down as the fastest player on the Bengals defense.
Kelce, a Cincinnati Bearcats product who returned from the Reserve/COVID-19 list this week, is the next great tight end the Bengals will face. He has the second most receiving yards in the league for a tight end, trailing only Baltimore’s Mark Andrews, who caught eight passes for 125 yards and one touchdown last week against Cincinnati. Kelce caught 10 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns in his last outing, a 34-28 win over the Chargers in Week 15.
“He’s the top of the top, for sure,” Bell said. “His savviness, his finesse on how he gets open, how he can read defenses and find the soft spot in zones, really uncover well when he’s covered and just working back in phase with the quarterback. He always has that relentless motor and he’s one of the heartbeats of the team too. One of his go-to guys, his security blanket so he’s always going to find his way. They know they have speed guys on the outside who are going to take the top off the defense but he just works underneath in the intermediate game. That’s why you see him thrive in the league.”
The Bengals have used corners and safeties against tight ends this season, including some double teams, but Bell has mainly held the responsibility of covering those players.
Bell said it’s a “challenge accepted” this week.
The Bengals defense received a boost Thursday when starting defensive tackle D.J. Reader was added to the active roster from the Reserve-COVID-19 list.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Chiefs at Bengals, 1 p.m., CBS, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
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