Bengals: Stewart’s first sack ‘meant the world to me’

One sack won’t silence naysayers, but Stewart got the proverbial monkey off his back Sunday when he recorded his first NFL sack on Jacoby Brissett in a 37-14 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

“It meant the world to me,” Stewart said. “People said I couldn’t do it. People said I won’t do it. Missed however many games, came back and still did it. So, it’s a great moment.”

The Bengals finished the game with four sacks, including one for Myles Murphy, who now leads the team with 5.5 sacks after not recording a single sack in 2024.

With Trey Hendrickson only playing seven games, Cincinnati has been forced to manufacture the pass rush in unique ways, and Stewart missed valuable time when he could have made an impact sooner.

After never dealing with injury in college, Stewart was sidelined nine games this season due to two separate ailments. The No. 17 overall draft pick sprained his ankle in Week 2 and missed four games, then picked up a knee injury in the Week 9 loss to the Chicago Bears and went on injured reserve Nov. 15.

Stewart was itching to get back on the field as soon as he was cleared to practice, but the Bengals held him off another week to give him his return last week at Miami. He played about 50 percent of the defensive snaps and recorded two tackles, including one for a loss.

It wasn’t a bad start, but Stewart was motivated to do more. He thought he had his first sack earlier in the win Sunday against Arizona when he hit Brissett late in the second quarter but not before Brissett let go of an incomplete pass.

The sack finally came late in the third quarter for a 6-yard loss on second-and-9.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

“It’s very important to give me that confidence boost that was missing,” Stewart said of why the stats matter this late in a lost season. “Being out for however many games, playing so little games, I definitely needed it.”

He wasn’t the only one happy to get that box checked on the stat sheet.

“I’m just glad that his sack counted so that’s out of the way now, so we can all move on with our lives,” Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden said, acknowledging all the outside noise surrounding Stewart’s production. “Happy New Year.”

Stewart said that being sidelined so long and then seeing the fan reaction to his absence took a toll on him mentally. He also felt the weight of his draft slot.

It didn’t help that Stewart missed his first professional offseason due to a contract issue. He didn’t sign until after training camp had already started and then was behind in terms of football conditioning and implementing what he had learned on paper into practice on the field.

The holdout created some animosity from a portion of the fan base that already had doubts about his ability to help the Bengals pass rush, which was lacking outside of Trey Hendrickson. Then, when he wasn’t available for two long stretches, the doubt seemed to grow.

Stewart said he let those doubts creep into his own thoughts, as well.

“It was really hard on me mentally, especially being picked where I was picked at,” Stewart said. “So, hearing all the outside noise, my mind was going in the wrong direction for a little bit, but I’ll shake it off.”

On Sunday, Stewart gained back some confidence. He brought Brissett down on a bull rush and swipe inside, then celebrated by blowing kisses to the crowd. Stewart said he had something better planned but he completely forgot what it was in the moment and that was the best he could come up with on the fly.

Stewart received a game ball to document his first career sack, and he plans to put it in a trophy case in his house.

Golden and Bengals coach Zac Taylor both said they see great potential for Stewart’s future.

“He hasn’t gotten a chance to just be healthy for a long stretch,” Taylor said. “It’s always a stop-start this year, no fault of his own with the injuries. So, to see him out there accumulating a bunch of snaps over these last couple weeks, first career sack, can get that off your back a little bit before you’re going to the offseason. He’s got a lot of potential for us.”

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