Why Bengals’ Lou Anarumo is the Best Defensive Coordinator in the NFL

Since the Bengals broke out last year and became one of the best teams in the NFL, the offense has received most of the attention. However, in the biggest moments last year, it seems the Bengals’ defense has been the ones to step up. In last year’s playoff run, the defense made many plays to save the Bengals’ season. Most notably, in the 2022 AFC Championship game, the Bengals were down 21-3 at halftime, and it looked like the Kansas City Chiefs were about to end the Bengals’ season. Patrick Mahomes was dominating the game as usual with a 98.0 passer rating(ESPN metrics on a 0-100 scale). The Bengals’ defense then went on to have one of the greatest defensive turnarounds of all time. Mahomes could do next to nothing in the second half of this game, with a 1.4 passer rating(0-100 scale). While some may see this as the biggest quarterback collapse in recent NFL history, I see it as one of the greatest defensive adjustments in NFL history. Bengals defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo, knew it was up to him to make the proper adjustments to give the Bengals a chance. According to Next Gen Stats, Anarumo made major adjustments; the Bengals just about doubled their usage of dropping 8+ defenders into coverage, doing this 24% of the time in the first half, to 45% of the time in the second half. This major defensive adjustment saved the Bengals’ season, and it was done by none other than Lou Anarumo. This wasn’t the first time Anarumo made game-changing adjustments to save the game. Just earlier in the same season, the Bengals played the Chiefs for the first time and were down 28-17 in the first half. After being lit up by Patrick Mahomes in the first half, the Chiefs failed to score more than three points in the second half. Lou Anarumo keeps proving why he is an elite coach in the NFL, and he is starting to make a name for himself. In a dominant performance last weekend, the Bengals held the Buffalo Bills, the third-highest-scoring offense in the NFL, to only 10 points. Lou Anarumo will be in talks this offseason to be hired as a head coach, and he is someone that NFL teams will not want to miss out on.