The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Late penalty a learning moment for Bengals
As defensive end Sam Hubbard looked across the locker room and saw a distraught rookie, he instantly remembered the day he felt the same way that Daijahn Anthony did on Sunday.
The Bengals should have beat the Chiefs on Sunday. But on 4th and 16 in the final minute of the game, Patrick Mahomes threw up a prayer on 4th and 16 to wide receiver Rashee Rice. Anthony – the rookie seventh-round pick who the Bengals threw into the fire in Week 2 – got flagged for a borderline defensive pass interference penalty.
Anthony’s penalty – his second penalty in the six snaps he played on Sunday – set up a walk-off field goal and a 26-25 win for the Chiefs. The moment made Hubbard remember what happened in his third game in the NFL.
“Carolina, my rookie year,” Hubbard said, flashing back to the moment. “I lost the game.”
In a one-score game in the fourth quarter back in 2019, Cam Newton fumbled, and Hubbard dove on top of the football. Hubbard had it until he didn’t. Somehow, the ball escaped his grasp.
As soon as Hubbard felt like he was getting comfortable in the NFL, he got embarrassed.
“After I had a sack in Week 2, I thought this was going to be easy,” Hubbard said. “Then, the reality hits that it’s a tough league. It’s all about how you overcome adversity. Don’t let it define you.”
On Sunday, the leaders on the Bengals’ defense made sure that Anthony heard that message loud and clear.
“Collectively, everyone on the field could have made a play to make the difference,” Hubbard said of the loss. “It’s not on one person. It was a good fight. I love our emotion and our energy. It’s a long season. We’ve got 15 games left.”
If you ranked positions of need from first-to-last for the Bengals before the 2024 NFL Draft, safety would have been second-to-last on that list, trailing only the quarterback position.
Geno Stone and Vonn Bell were set as the starters. Jordan Battle was a starting-caliber reserve, and special teams ace Tycen Anderson has flashed potential whenever he has been healthy. Typically, the Bengals only carry four safeties on the roster.
But Anthony was too perfect of a fit to pass up. He was a Swiss Army knife with experience at outside cornerback, inside cornerback and safety. He had length, speed and a competitive streak.
Anthony checked too many boxes that Lou Anarumo values for the Bengals to make a different pick.
He started his rookie training camp at the bottom of the depth chart. Then, he recorded the first interception of training camp by pouncing on an overthrow by Jake Browning. The next day, he got the chance for a rep against Mike Gesicki in a drill where Joe Burrow worked on making throws in one-onone matchups. Anthony got another pick.
His climb up the depth chart began, and the seed was planted for what he could do against tight ends. In the process, he earned the respect of his veteran teammates.
“That’s my guy right there,” Vonn Bell said. “He has that fire.”
“You can tell by the way he plays how much he loves the game,” Mike Hilton said.
After that pick against Gesicki in camp, the Bengals tried out a third down “dime” package that had Anthony as their tight end stopper. In that package, Anthony took the place on the field of Hilton, and DJ Turner entered the game in the place of linebacker Germaine Pratt.
It started as an experiment, and the coaching staff loved how much length they could get on the field by having Anthony playing among a big group of defensive backs.
Anthony’s journey as a football player has been about turning a sliver of an opportunity into a career. He started out as a walk-on at the Division II level. On Sunday, he was a part of the plan against tight end Travis Kelce.
“In crunch time, he’s guarding one of the best players in the league,” Bell said. “We know what (Anthony) is capable of.”
The Bengals always mix up their looks against Kelce, who only had one catch for five yards on Sunday. Anthony was a part of that plan on four third downs plus two critical fourth downs against the Chiefs. He played a total of six snaps, and Anthony lined up in front of Kelce on all six of those snaps.
In the third quarter, Anthony committed an illegal contact penalty in man coverage against Kelce that wiped a Bengals’ interception off the board. Then in the fourth quarter, Anthony committed the pass interference penalty against Rice on 4th and 16.
“It’s a guy competing,” Germaine Pratt said. “That’s all it is. That’s all that matters. He’s competing hard trying to make a play late. Next time, it’ll go our way.”
After the game, Zac Taylor told the team that at some point this year, a questionable penalty like the one Anthony got called on will go the Bengals’ way. Anthony was trying to make a play on the ball as he collided with Rice on 4th and 16, but the subjective nature of the call didn’t take away the sting for the rookie, who declined to speak to the media after the game.
“You’ve got to grow,” Bell said. “It’s a week-to-week league. See it on tape, correct it and make the play the next time it comes.”
Complex third and fourth down coverages in the Bengals’ system are tough for any player, especially a rookie. The Bengals’ struggles in the secondary in 2023 made that clear. Guarding Kelce is even more challenging. But still, Anarumo turned to Anthony in some incredibly high-leverage moments.
By putting Anthony on the field for a handful of very important snaps, Anarumo went all-in on a rookie against the best playmaking duo in the NFL in Mahomes and Kelce. The Bengals had some other options in a big defensive back room, and they used those options on plenty of third downs on Sunday. But in Anthony’s second career game, he ended up being in the spotlight against Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs.
It’s tough to place much blame on Anthony, who was put into a difficult situation. A rivalry game against the Chiefs and a matchup versus Mahomes and Kelce isn’t the time for a rookie to try something new.
“There’s always a role for these (rookies) early on to show that it’s not too big for them,” Taylor said. “That’s what we expect from Daijahn.”