The Cincinnati Bengals entered Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens with a 3-2 record, coming off an ugly win over the winless (at the time) Dolphins after two straight losses. They were facing a 4-2 Ravens team in Baltimore that was coming off a Week 6 loss to the Browns and couldn’t afford to start the season 0-2 in the division.
With Lamar Jackson out, much of the attention fell on Ravens edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. Suddenly, this was a “Hendrickson revenge game” after he was treated so poorly in the Queen City.
Well, the Ravens may have given the Bengals a scare in the first half of their game, but Hendrickson was a non-factor all afternoon on the way to a 35-13 defeat at the hands of his former team.
Not only did Hendrickson not get a sack on his former teammate, Joe Burrow, but he had just one QB hit, one hurry, and zero tackles, per PFF.
He was facing left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., who has struggled through the team’s first five games this season. He’s given up three sacks and 12 total pressures, per PFF, but has been responsible for only two pressures over the last two weeks, and that includes his matchup opposite Hendrickson.
Of course, he had help. The Bengals often kept a tight end in the pocket, and the running backs were keeping an eye on Hendrickson throughout the game, but the end result is all that matters.
Meanwhile, Boye Mafe, who was signed in free agency this offseason and is practically Hendrickson’s replacement, had five total hurries and two sacks in Baltimore on Sunday.
What does that have to do with Hendrickson being zeroed out all day?