Bengals bust out wacky ‘Star Wars’ formation, go full Jedi on Giants

The Force was strong on this play.

It hasn’t be the most exciting season for the Cincinnati Bengals, and they just haven’t been as thrilling offensively since Hue Jackson left to coach the Cleveland Browns.

But in Monday night’s game against the New York Giants, the Bengals drew from their past in bringing back the “Star Wars” formation that spreads the field into groups of three and generally confuses a defense that isn’t ready for it. (Like Yoda once said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Maybe he was a defensive coordinator in his early years.)

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“Star Wars” is ESPN analyst Jon Gruden’s name for it anyway. Here’s Gruden breaking down a play the Bengals ran out of this formation during a 2014 game against the Houston Texans, one of a handful of times they ran it that season.

On Monday, the Bengals brought back the “Star Wars” formation and sent Tyler Eifert down the seam against the Giants, who were none the wiser. Andy Dalton threw a perfect rainbow pass and Eifert stung them for a 71-yard catch, which was the longest catch of his career and the third-longest reception by a tight end this season.

The odd formation actually is credited to Steve Spurrier, who called it “Emory & Henry” after the Division-III school he grew up watching used it many times. Here’s Spurrier using it with the Florida Gators against the Florida State Seminoles in the 52-20 Sugar Bowl victory that gave him a national championship. Fancy formation, but a simple handoff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqFuXEbWOcI

We love the creativity. Several people have stolen borrowed this from Spurrier, and the Bengals brought back a little “Old Republic” fun to their offense on Monday.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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