Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon tore through the Carolina Panthers during Sunday’s blowout win in what seemed like at least a little bit of a response to criticism.
Buy Bengals TicketsMixon did the running, but he says an intense meeting with offensive coordinator Brian Callahan the day before the game played a big role.
“He had a hell of a meeting on Saturday. You could just tell the hunger and everything in his eyes and we had great preparation all week,” Mixon said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “But the way that Callahan was getting at us on Saturday, I just loved how he came in with an edge in that meeting and basically everything that he said. We made it happen today, so we spoke it into existence.”
Mixon scored a franchise record five times on Sunday, rushing for 153 yards on 22 carries (7.0 average) with four scores and added another four catches for 58 yards as a receiver.
The outburst came after weeks of criticism, including coaches calling him out for his struggles in pass blocking.
While some of those struggles will remain and future opponents won’t struggle as much as the Panthers do, the Bengals and Mixon hope they have established a bit of momentum in this area.
Either way, it’s safe to presume Callahan won’t lose that edge now.
