Bengals All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson showed why he is all of that and more Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium with six pressures on 30 pass rushes and something Pro Football Focus calls a 32% win rate.
Which is ridiculous.
Ridiculously good.
He got better as the game went on, racking up his first two sacks of the season and drawing two holding penalties on left tackle Kingsley Suamataia that got him benched. The second sack was quickly followed by the second hold as the Bengals put their foot in the ground with a 25-23 lead with about nine minutes left in the game.
Then, on what was the play of the game until the next and last snap of the game, Hendrickson drew a hands-to-the-face penalty on Suamataia's replacement, Wayna Morris. That's how it got to be fourth-and-16.
The man himself, Patrick Lavon Mahomes II, called out Hendrickson in his postgame when he was asked about the man's relentless pressure.
"He's just an absolute monster. Just his motor, the way he's able to rush the passer," Mahomes said. "I remember playing him in New Orleans and he was like that and then he got to Cincinnati (and) he's been like that. He did a great job today. He's great against the run and the pass, kind of an underrated guy. It was a good test for us, and we'll have to get better for it."
His own teammates believe he's underrated. Joseph Ossai, the fourth-year edge who calls Hendrickson a mentor and worked out with him this winter, was left shaking his head Monday after watching the tape.
"He's phenomenal," Ossai said. "Can't be stopped. Won't be stopped."
It will be recalled that even though Hendrickson didn't have a sack last week in the opener, the Patriots benched their left tackle because Hendrickson was forcing quarterback Jacoby Brissett immediately out of the pocket. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo isn't sure he's ever seen that.
"Trey's an elite rusher," Anarumo said. "He can power you, he can speed rush you. He's a problem for other offenses to think of."
ALL IN
With the Bengals defensive linemen falling like trees ever since training camp with the knee injury to third-round defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, Anarumo really had to go to the well in Arrowhead. The other rookie tackle, Kris Jenkins Jr. (thumb) was out, as was edge Myles Murphy (knee). They lost starting tackle B.J. Hill and the other starting tackle Sheldon Rankins to hamstring injuries on Sunday.
With left end Sam Hubbard moving inside, Ossai lined up opposite Hendrickson for 35 snaps, his most work since the 2022 must-win regular-season finale against the Ravens.
"A little rough. Tired," Ossai said. "But we had guys like (tackle) Zach Carter playing 15 snaps in a row. I'm not going to complain."
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had no update on the status of Hill and Rankins for next Monday night's game with Washington at Paycor Stadium, but says he's talking to the front office about possible replacements.
After the Commanders beat the Giants with 215 rushing yards on Sunday when running back Brian Robinson Jr. went for 133 yards on six yards a pop, Anarumo knows how Washington is going to protect rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
HIGGINS TRENDING UP
Taylor sounded upbeat about the progress of wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring), out the first two games.
"I think this extra day really helps this week," Taylor said. "I don't want to make any proclamations on where he'll be Monday night, but I feel like it's trending in a positive direction."
DAIJAHN DÉJÀ VU
Anarumo is still bullish on rookie safety Daijahn Anthony even though on two of his nine snaps he had game-changing penalties. His illegal contact on tight end Travis Kelce erased cornerback DJ Turner’s interception, and his pass interference on fourth-and-16 in the last minute allowed the Chiefs to kick the winning field goal.
But Anthony, rangy, instinctive and bright, remains Anarumo's man.
"He showed the ability in training camp. He showed the ability to go get the ball both in the preseason games, being around where he's supposed to be," Anarumo said. "He's athletic. He just has a nose for that part of the game. It would be foolish not to use him."
Anthony, the seventh-rounder from Ole Miss, is playing in front of second-year safety Jordan Battle.
"Two different guys. Totally different," Anarumo said. (Anthony) is a deep zone, rangy type guy. Jordan is more of an in-the-box guy. Not that he can't do the other things. Daijahn right now in our minds was the right guy at the right time. It just didn't work out."
His teammates also rallied to him as he wept in the postgame locker room. Ossai, who eerily went through the exact same thing in the same building after the 2022 AFC title game, went to him and recalled how he got past a roughing-the-passer call on Mahomes with 30 seconds left that led to another walkoff field goal. File it, fix it, forget it, Ossai basically told him.
Also comforting him was his Ole Miss teammate, rookie edge Cedric Johnson.
"I just grabbed him and came up and said, 'Hey, you'll come back and make a huge play for us, or more as the season goes on,''' Anarumo said. "So don't, don't hang your head. You just got nothing to do with one play. That's not how you win or lose your game.'''
It was a scene still hanging with Taylor Monday.
"Standing in the locker room after the game, you can see the emotion with the guys, how much they poured onto that field and how much that game meant to them and how disappointed they were, and it's a strange thing to say but that puts me in such a positive mindset going forward, just where this team is at and how much they care to take that loss so personally," Taylor said.
"And guys feel like, 'Man, it was maybe my play' when it's not. That's big picture, it's absolutely not, and I like that Daijahn competes as hard as anybody out there, and I want that from him. I want that from Joseph Ossai. Guys play hard and sometimes it won't go your way. That's not going to change our process, and we want guys that care that much to where it affects them that way and there's other guys that can lift them up. That's what I like about this team."
