Cincinnati Bengals coaches benched Jeremy Hill after he lost two fumbles during the team’s 24-19 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, and the starting running back admitted his lack of ball control is an issue.
According to ESPN’s Coley Harvey, the second-year runner said he won’t pretend that problem doesn’t exist.
“You could definitely start saying it’s an issue. I can be happy and in denial about it, but it’s definitely become an issue and it has to get fixed.”
Since becoming the No. 1 back in November 2014, Hill has played 11 games and fumbled seven times—four of which resulted in a turnover.
Unlike a handful of rosters around the country, however, the Bengals have a ready-made replacement. Gio Bernard, who was the starter until sustaining a midseason injury last year, replaced Hill and tallied 139 total yards.
On the other hand, Cincinnati could revert to the two-back system it experimented with late in 2014 and obtained respectable results. During the last three games of the regular season, the duo racked up 172.7 rushing, 46.3 receiving yards and 1.7 touchdowns per outing.
Regardless, the Bengals need to settle on their rotation soon because the next four opponents—the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills—each boast top-tier defenses.
But if Hill’s fumbling issues continue, the subsequent decision won’t be overly difficult for Cincinnati coaches.