The Cincinnati Bengals play the Carolina Panthers this Sunday without one of their top playmakers in RB Joe Mixon. But worry not, as RB Giovani Bernard has that covered as he takes over starting duties at the RB position. Or does he?

While most Bengals fans will agree that Bernard is a talented player who can start for a number of teams, they will also tell you that they don’t think he can handle a 300 carry season. Luckily for the Bengals, they don’t have to worry about putting Bernard out there as the starter for a full season — the real question lies in his ability to carry to the team for the next 3-4 games. I have no doubt he’ll fill in admirably, but let’s see what history says about Gio when he starts.

Located below are some statistics in games in which he’s a starter versus games in which he’s the no. 2 back.

When starting:

Wins/Losses: 6 – 8 (43 percent win percentage) Rushing yards per game: 52 Carries per game: 14 YPC: 3.75 TDs per game: .43 Receiving yards per game: 29 Receptions per game: 3.6

When spelling:

Wins/Losses: 35 – 22 (61 percent win percentage) Rushing yards per game: 38 Carries per game: 9 YPC: 4.4 TDs per game: .32 Receiving yards per game: 29 Receptions per game: 3.2

Conclusion:

As evidenced by the stats above (which I painstakingly put together), Gio’s statistics don’t change much even as a starter. The only difference from what I can tell is the total yardage goes up slightly when he starts (81 yards vs. 67 yards) and the number of carries he gets goes up slightly as well (14 vs. 9). However, his receptions don’t change much, as he still gets 3.2 receptions per game as the spell back vs. 3.6 receptions per game as a starter. In the passing game, it seems he’s pretty consistent. However, overall, the numbers show he’s a bit more effective as a spell back, as evidenced by the better YPC (4.4 vs. 3.7).

The most interesting tidbit here is the win percentage with Gio as the starter vs. Gio as the spell back. When Gio starts, the team wins 43 percent of their games. However, when Gio is used as the spell back, they win 61 percent of their games. That’s quite a large jump. Although I don’t believe Gio starting had much to do with the losses, it’s still interesting to see the raw numbers.

Overall, this comparison should show you that Gio will always be Gio. He’s consistent as a starter or as a spell back and I believe the Bengals offense will be just as effective without Mixon in the mix, as Bernard has shown time and time again that he has what it takes to carry the load. Although the Bengals and Gio seem to be more efficient when he isn’t starting, there’s no doubt in my mind that he can get through the next 3-4 weeks without a hitch.