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Bills vs. Dolphins 2013: Bengals offense screen game blueprint

The Cincinnati Bengals killed the Buffalo Bills with the screen pass on Sunday, and you can bet that Joe Philbin and the Miami Dolphins were taking notes.

By Brian Galliford
  • (Play 1, 1 of 2) Giovani Bernard moves to the right of the formation, which backs often do to provide a chip on Mario Williams. Bernard doesn't chip, the ball comes out quickly, and Kiko Alonso is left 1-on-1 with the speedy tailback.
  • (Play 1, 2 of 2) Bernard gets the edge with ease despite Alonso's above-average range. Downfield, Leodis McKelvin has managed to evade a Bengals blocker to minimize the gain on a well-designed play.
  • (Play 2, 2 of 2) Same play call as the previous play, and it gets the Bills again - Alonso has to move across the alignment to pick up a full-speed Bernard on a swing pass, with Bernard racing past Jerry Hughes this time.
  • (Play 2, 2 of 2) The result is the same, as well: Bernard gets the edge on a diving Alonso, and a Bills defensive back is left to make a nice play to minimize the gain. Still, it's as easy a first down as the Bengals picked up all day.
  • (Play 3, 1 of 2) Cincinnati dusted off this play again in overtime, but changed up the blocking scheme: rather than isolate Alonso 1-on-1, Mohamed Sanu cracks back on him, and Jermaine Gresham is out in front as a lead blocker. Bernard runs the same route past Williams.
  • (Play 3, 2 of 2) With better blocking, Bernard gets the edge and then slides by Da'Norris Searcy with ease in the open field. The Bengals gained 23 yards on this play, and it put them on the verge of field goal range on the first possession of OT.
  • (Play 4, 1 of 3) This wide receiver screen is a read-option staple, and it's aided by the fact that the Bills like to blitz Nickell Robey out of the slot. Cincinnati's play call is heading in the direction of the blitz, which works out well.
  • (Play 4, 2 of 3) The run fake causes Kyle Williams and Alonso to pursue away from the action side of the play - and with Robey blitzing, three Bills defenders are effectively removed from the equation.
  • (Play 4, 3 of 3) The screen is well-designed, well-executed and caught the Bills in an untimely defensive call - and Marvin Jones is able to increase the yardage gained thanks to a hobbled Stephon Gilmore trying to take on a block from left tackle Andrew Whitworth.
  • (Play 5, 1 of 3) Another Bills defensive call works against them: crash a middle linebacker (here, Alonso) into the A gap, then take the other inside linebacker (here, Manny Lawson) over the top in the direction of the run. That's two linebackers running away from the screen.
  • (Play 5, 2 of 3) A.J. Green hauls in the quick throw with three lead blockers in play for three and a half defenders (again, given Gilmore's club arm).
  • (Play 5, 3 of 3) Whitworth again springs the play open - he flattens Jim Leonhard with one arm, and is then able to move up and get a piece of Searcy. Green races down the left sideline for 54 yards before Searcy can recover and knock him out of bounds.
  • (Play 6, 1 of 2) Mike Pettine dials up another blitz - this time, Robey is coming off of right tackle, and he's bringing Jairus Byrd off of the left side of the line - and the end result is that Alonso is isolated on a screen to Sanu, the innermost receiver to the left.
  • (Play 6, 2 of 2) By now, the Bills have seen enough screens that they're reacting to them quicker. Alonso has a chance at this play if Aaron Williams doesn't lose leverage to the sideline, allowing Sanu to get outside and pick up yet another first down.

If the Miami Dolphins were watching the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in preparation for their matchup in Week 7, they likely noticed the Cincinnati Bengals having a great deal of success running screen plays to the perimeter of Mike Pettine's aggressive, blitz-happy defense.

Cincinnati knew they wanted to get the ball out of Andy Dalton's hands quickly in order to minimize both the effectiveness and the thoughtfulness of Pettine's blitzes. The end results were great for the Bengals, who rattled off huge chunks of yardage on those plays all day for a variety of reasons.

Two specific types of screens caught our attention: receiver screens that capitalized on misdirection (something Buffalo's defense has struggled with for years), and a swing pass to running back Giovani Bernard that the Bills somehow couldn't cover up throughout the game.

Stills 1-6 in the gallery above look at Bernard's play calls, which involved him running to the right on a swing pass. Those plays isolated middle linebacker Kiko Alonso, whose above-average range was no match for the ultra-quick Bernard. Even after seeing that play run successfully against them twice in regulation, the Bills again let Bernard slip into the flat and pick up 23 yards in overtime; luckily, the play didn't set up a game-winning score for the road team.

Stills 7-14, meanwhile, focus on a variety of receiver screens. One was run off of a read-option wrinkle that moved defenders out of the picture, and two were run against Bills blitzes, which caught the home team off guard.

It's all in the gallery above. You can bet that we'll see Joe Philbin and Ryan Tannehill dial up some of these same looks next Sunday in Miami, with players like the electrifying Mike Wallace targeted on those plays.

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