Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals' Jeremy Hill just average in Week 1, Hue Jackson wants more

Published Sep. 17, 2015 4:23 p.m. ET

foxsports

Bengals running back Jeremy Hill wasn't satisfied with his two-touchdown performance in last Sunday's season-opening win in Oakland, and neither was his offensive coordinator.

Hue Jackson was glad Hill found the end zone, but he wasn't happy with Hill's overall output -- just 63 yards on 19 carries for a 3.3-yard average.

"Jeremy's got ability, and Jeremy needs to play as good as he can play, and I know he can play better," Jackson said per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey. "He scores two touchdowns and everybody thinks that's great. But there are some plays he left out there. He'd be the first to tell you that, so I'm not telling you something he doesn't know."

Jackson will find no arguments from Hill, who called his performance "average at best."

"I have to play better to give us a better chance," he added.

So what can Hill do to get better? All he has to do is look at fellow running back Giovani Bernard's performance in Oakland. Bernard equaled Hill's 63 yards on 11 less carries, often beating the first tackler.

"There's guys that we turn loose on a hole one on one and [Bernard] beat them," Jackson said. "That's what running backs do and that's what I expect our backs to do. Jeremy needs to do that more. I told him that. So that's not a secret. That's what great backs do. They make plays out of nothing sometimes."

Jackson added that he will continue to ride his players to get the most out of them, whether it's Hill, Bernard, quarterback Andy Dalton or start receiver A.J. Green.

"Those guys have got to play consistent and play great every week for us to be what we can be, and that's what my expectation for them is."

h/t: ESPN.com