Bengals, Joe Burrow need to expect more out of their offense after another uninspiring outing
Every win the Cincinnati Bengals get after starting 1-4 is important. Leeway went out the window when they racked up four losses before a month had gone by since the season-opener.It's wins like the one Cincinnati just achieved against the Cleveland Browns that keep any and all playoff hopes alive. Securing a spot in the […]
Every win the Cincinnati Bengals get after starting 1-4 is important. Leeway went out the window when they racked up four losses before a month had gone by since the season-opener.
It's wins like the one Cincinnati just achieved against the Cleveland Browns that keep any and all playoff hopes alive. Securing a spot in the bracket is dependent solely on wins, not their level of quality.
But at some point, if you expect to be taken seriously when you do get to the dance, you need to look like you belong. The Bengals don't look like that yet, and they can't afford to focus on anything else.
The Bengals were held to just two offensive touchdowns for the second straight Sunday in a 21-14 win over the Browns. Charlie Jones ran the full length of the field for an opening kickoff return touchdown that provided a 7-0 lead out of the gate. That lead only shrunk for the remainder of the first half as their next touchdown didn't come until halfway through the third quarter.
In the first half, the Bengals' offense was simply abysmal. They were extremely unbalanced and ineffective, failing to get anything going on the ground and falling short on all six of their third down attempts.
As you'd expect, the numbers reflected all of that.
Similar problems from last week's 17-7 win over the New York Giants came up again. Quarterback Joe Burrow took a beating behind an offensive line that protected for as long as they should have to, but pressures turned into sacks when the ball couldn't get out. Whether it's Burrow holding on for too long, or the receivers not getting open enough, the results were bad for the offense.
Burrow can at least hang his hat on throwing two touchdowns in the second half, but what's there to be optimistic about this run game lately? Chase Brown can be counted on for an explosive run or two, but 59 yards on 25 carries is horrid. Zack Moss nearly had as many attempts (6) as he did yards (7). Concerning would be an understatement.
And yet, the Bengals have been on the winning side of their last two games. Compared to when the offense was booming and losing thanks to the defense's ineptitude, Burrow will take this alternative.
"Well, we scored over 30 and we lost," Burrow said. "And now we've won two in a row. So no, I'm not concerned."
Winning is the objective, but as evidenced by losing with a great offense, winning with a bad one is also unstable. Burrow should be concerned over his side of the ball taking its turn to hold the team back. Promoting results over process is rarely good, and it isn't here.
What partially saves Burrow here is the context of the last two weeks. Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz are two of the best in the game and have given Burrow's offense fits in the past. It's reasonable to accept that the offense met its match in both games and did enough to come out on top. It's just as reasonable to expect more out of the offense in the weeks to come so that the defense's revival doesn't go to waste.
"We played two really good defenses back-to-back weeks, good fronts, good coaching, and so we found ways to win," Burrow said. "You know, everybody talking about how good our offense was for the first four weeks, whatever it was, and we were 1-3. So that's obviously not ideal. I'd rather be everyone talking about how we didn't execute on offense and win two games in a row than the other way around."
Burrow and everyone else in that locker room would rather be winning ugly than losing with style, but their wins won't count for much more if they don't play better to earn them. The Giants and Browns are on track to finish at the bottom of the league. Much better teams will await them in the playoffs if they make it that far. Winning this way will be a lot harder, and that's what Burrow needs to be concerned about.
It's a lot easier to look in the mirror after wins, especially this one. Cincinnati hasn't driven back from Cleveland with a win since 2017. There's over 50 years of bad blood between both franchises that were founded by the same person.
The Bengals can celebrate this one. Winning in the AFC North is hard. Exorcising in-state demons is as well. The catharsis deserves to flow for the night. Tomorrow morning, the clock starts again to get much better than where they are now.
"I think we have a chance to be a great team," Burrow said. "We're not that yet."
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