Bengals "X-Factor" for 2023 named by national media
The Cincinnati Bengals present nightmares weekly for opposing defenses with quarterback Joe Burrow slinging the football around and a trio of highly capable wide receivers. When digging deep into the layers of the Bengals, it's kind of amazing how good they are on offense with the shaky play they get from their offensive line consistently. […]
The Cincinnati Bengals present nightmares weekly for opposing defenses with quarterback Joe Burrow slinging the football around and a trio of highly capable wide receivers.
When digging deep into the layers of the Bengals, it's kind of amazing how good they are on offense with the shaky play they get from their offensive line consistently. However, as is the case with any offense, the better they are on the line of scrimmage will go a long way in how the unit does as a whole.
Although there are questions to be answered, Pro Football Focus feels if the Bengals can get adequate play from their offensive line that they could be the team's X-Factor for the upcoming season.
Despite spending a lot of money on the offensive line in the 2022 offseason, the Bengals hardly improved as a unit. This offseason, they added Super Bowl champion Orlando Brown Jr. to man the blind side. While Joe Burrow does thrive in the quick passing game, being able to give him more time to dissect opposing defenses could make an already dangerous passing attack unstoppable.
The additions of right tackle La'el Collins, right guard Alex Cappa, and center Ted Karras were supposed to fix an offensive line that gave 55 sacks in 2021 which was the third-most league-wide. Well, there was an improvement in that regard, but the Bengals still surrendered nearly three sacks a game with 44 (the team played only 16 games last season).
Collins is recovering from a torn ACL/MCL. So, the right tackle spot going into the season has a question mark over it, but with veteran, Jonah Williams expected to slide to the right side with Brown signed, the Bengals may have their bases covered there.
With Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd in the passing and now speedster Chase Brown in the backfield to go alongside Joe Mixon, Cincinnati is more explosive offensively than they've been during their back-to-back deep playoff runs. If their offensive line steps its game up, the Bengals have a chance to sit atop the AFC in 2023.
