Joe Burrow seemingly settles one of the biggest Bengals debates after 2-2 start
Will the Cincinnati Bengals abandon the under center portion of their offensive playbook? Quarterback Joe Burrow gives his answer.
Will the Cincinnati Bengals abandon the under center portion of their offensive playbook? It’s been a hot topic amongst fans and the media.
The Bengals have, statistically, the worst under-center offense in the NFL through four weeks. They are averaging 3.3 yards per play with quarterback Joe Burrow taking the snap right behind center Ted Karras. It’s even worse than their 5.1 yards per play average for all of last season.
Burrow seemed to have ended the conversation during his Wednesday press conference, making it clear that keeping those plays and executing them better is imperative to Cincinnati’s success.
“We obviously have to be better at it,” Burrow said. “We’re still going to stick with it and keep getting reps invested in that. I think it’s very valuable, so we have to be able to do it. But we need to do better.”
Joe Burrow explains needed progression with under center offense
Cincinnati’s offense with Burrow at QB has thrived in the shotgun. Translating that success when Burrow takes the snap from under center and turns his back to the defense was a primary objective for the Bengals this offseason.
So far, it’s been a swing and a miss.
Nearly two-thirds of Cincy’s run game has been from under center, just under 63% of the calls. Those carries have averaged 3.3 yards per play, as opposed to a 4.0 yards/carry average from shotgun. Defenses have been able to limit running back Chase Brown, and there’s been a cascading effect on the passing game when Burrow attempts to execute play action concepts.
“It starts with running football,” Burrow said. “Under center play actions are built off the run game, and teams have to respect the run first and foremost so you don’t just get jet rushers on the edge when you’re doing play action. That just puts your offensive lineman in a bad spot when they’re trying to sell run, but the defense isn’t respecting the run and just rushing the passer.
“That’s not a recipe for success. So it starts with the run.”
Burrow has completed 11 of 16 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown while being sacked twice on under-center passing plays. That’s an average of 3.9 yards per attempt. His adjusted net yards per attempt from shotgun is 7.1. It’s just 3.8 from under center.
Nevertheless, Burrow is for continuing to keep repping it.
“I’m comfortable doing whatever whatever is needed, and I’ll execute my best.”
So we’ll see Burrow under center on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. If the ineffectiveness continues, maybe Burrow’s answer changes after the bye week.
