by Chris Ball
Loveland, Ohio –
After the Bengals dug themselves into a 1-4 hole to start the season, everyone knew that it would take grit, determination, and focus to lift the team out. Back-to-back games against two struggling opponents helped propel Cincinnati to within one game of .500. But even in those wins, something looked off about the offense.
Joe Burrow and company scored 30 more points in three straight games in weeks three through five. In each of those contests they had more than 350 yards and put up over 400 against both Washington and Baltimore. The only thing missing was complimentary performances by the Bengals’ defenders.
The return of defensive tackles BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins certainly addressed that lack of production. Lou Anarumo’s players needed confidence, and they played like they had plenty of it against the Giants and Browns. The hope was that playing better against admittedly inferior offenses might lead to a positive change of some kind moving forward.
But Sunday’s matchup against the Eagles made it crystal clear that the Bengals defense is not ready to contend against any of the even remotely competent competition. And what was worse, Zac Taylor and the Bengals’ offense continued their lack of mediocre play and also failed to meet the moment in a game that this team could ill-afford to lose. But then again, when you played as poorly as Cincinnati did to start this year, they are all must-win games going forward.
The Bengals Defense Takes a Step Backwards
After their first bit of success at stopping the run last week against the Browns, Saquon Barkley carved them up like a Thanksgiving turkey. He and the Eagles ploughed their way to 161 rush yards, the fourth time this year Cincinnati has allowed over 150 yards on the ground.
Jalen Hurts had so much time to throw the football that he could have taken some additional time to check out his stock portfolio. Against a line that was porous in giving up pressure and quarterback hits, Trey Hendrickson and company not only managed zero sacks, but they didn’t even register a quarterback hit. It was a stunning indictment against a line that was finally healthy and looking to prove it had the chops to be a factor.
All in all, Philadelphia pummeled the Bengals to the tune of 397 total yards and 37 points. Though it would have been nice to give the defense the benefit of the doubt, their performance on Sunday makes it nearly impossible to do as the season continues. It’s hard not to paint them as an extreme liability that will force Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense to carry this team in their remaining games.
Has Zac Taylor Broken the Bengals Offense?
There comes a time in every coach’s tenure when he has to be honest with himself if times get tough. To his credit this past week, Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski acknowledged how poorly his offense was performing under his leadership. He did what a leader does, and stepped aside from his play calling duties for Ken Dorsey because that was what gave the team a better chance to succeed. And lo and behold the following week his Browns pulled off a win from the cellar, taking down the Baltimore Ravens.
Joe Burrow is healthy, as is Ja’Marr Chase. The offensive line, a malady for years, is playing better and protecting their franchise quarterback. And yet here we are, watching this team, with all its weapons, go backwards on fourth and a yard, and put up less than 300 yards of offense in back-to-back games. For as bad as the fourth down call may have been, the play that preceded it might have been worse.
Watching Nick Siriani and the Eagles instantly line up and take advantage of fourth and short situations with such success is all the more galling because it comes from a simple “tush push” concept that isn’t hard to scheme or understand. And yet Zac Taylor, with all of the weapons, speed, and power available to him, can’t scheme up a play that has the prayer of a clean napkin at a barbeque festival.
How many weeks will the front office allow a Ferrari of an offense to perform like a Ford Fiesta? It is apparent that the Bengals defense is not going to magically unlock any hidden talent and begin to be counted on to limit their opponents to less than 25 points. This makes a functioning offense not only preferable, but a requirement to have any chance at all. It puts a great deal of pressure on Joe and company but it is the reality that we are now living in given the disaster we now are facing under Lou Anarumo’s watch.
In terms of yards per game, the Bengals still have to face the likes of Tennessee (#1 overall), Los Angeles (#9 overall), Pittsburgh twice (#6 overall) and Denver (#3 overall). These are teams whose offenses are still good enough to run circles around Cincinnati and so there are real questions as to whether Taylor has the ability to help this offense find the form it had earlier this year. Unfortunately, the offense is trending away from the explosiveness and effectiveness that it showed previously.
We’ve all seen the magic that Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have managed to show on the field week in and week out. Their talent and ability are not the problem. And yet this offense is nowhere near where it needs to be. It’s fair to ask where the deficiencies rest, and as the head coach and the one who draws up the plays that are supposed to unlock the potential of this offense, Zac Taylor must either improve drastically or step aside from those responsibilities.
What is the Future Like for the 2024 Bengals?
There was a lot of buzz about the Bengals making a deep playoff run in 2024 or maybe even making it back to the Super Bowl. But those who are honest with themselves after what they’ve seen so far this year can only shake their heads when hearing such talk now. We are eight games into this year and have seen what this team has and what its players can do. There are likely no surprise turnarounds in store for the defense who have no more players to count on to return, and no indication that they have any signs of life to rush the passer or contain any team with an offensive pulse.
The hope, then, is the same hope that Bengals fans are all too familiar with: putting faith in Joe Burrow to carry this team as far as he can. It’s unfair in this day and age given the athletic pass rushers that stand ready to demolish quarterbacks who drop back too frequently, or the opportunistic defensive backs who can pick off any pass that is remotely close. But unfortunately, there is no other real path to success apart from what Burrow can manage.
For as much as the future may look bright for Chase Brown, there is no actual track record that he can have sustained success to put a game on his back like Barkley did on Sunday. The offensive line and the run scheme in general just seem uncapable of gashing big plays on a consistent basis. And the defense is going to leak like a sieve from this point forward.
Put simply, we can only go as far as Joe Burrow’s arm can take us. And if he cannot manage such a herculean effort essentially on his own, it’s absolutely understandable. That is because he’s been failed by so many around him. From the front office who refuse to sign players, to the personnel department who simply cannot draft key players on defense, to his coaches who cannot put together a game plan to put him in a position to succeed.
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Christopher Ball is a longtime Loveland resident and an attorney. He graduated from Loveland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team before going on to become a coach’s assistant at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He has been following and rooting for the Reds and Bengals since the early 1990s and has been through the many ups and downs that fandom has wrought over the years.
