Photo courtesy of the Bengals on X: https://x.com/Bengals/status/1841236650510143860

by Chris Ball

Loveland, Ohio – The Bengals made their way into the win column for the first time in the 2024 season with a win last week against the Carolina Panthers. Joe Burrow continued to impress, throwing for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But Burrow wasn’t the only offensive player that stood out.

Chase Brown May Be RB1 Material

The other component of a healthy Bengals offense that the front office sought to improve was the running game. After parting ways with longtime running back Joe Mixon, the Bengals 2024 backfield would look very different. Cincinnati split carries in the early part of this year between Zack Moss and Chase Brown, but the Panthers game showed that perhaps the Brown, the second-year back out of Illinois, might have the inside edge on the RB1 spot. And it’s not without cause.

Brown averaged 5.3 yards per carry on 15 attempts against Carolina. He scored twice as well, and his vision and explosiveness were on display plenty on Sunday. Brown has a rushing success rate of 65.5% and is generating 0.25 EPA per rush attempt. He also leads the NFL in yards per carry. When paired with a healthy Joe Burrow and a full stable of clutch receivers, it’s one of the more complete offenses in the league.

The Offensive Line Shined Again

The offensive line gave him a clean pocket and did not allow a sack. This was the first time Joe Burrow has not been sacked in a game since week three of 2021. Overall they allowed just five pressures on 32 dropbacks which was the lowest such rate since week five of 2022. Keeping Burrow healthy was the main priority in signing Orlando Brown Jr. and drafting Amarius Mims. So far the men blocking up front for the Bengals have meet, and exceeded expectations. The combination of a competent offensive line and a healthy quarterback is exactly what Bengals fans have been waiting for ever since they saw Burrow sacked a league-high 51 times in 2021.

 

The Bengals Secondary and Pass Rush Struggle Again

Though the Bengals offense may be complete, the defense has plenty of missing pieces, as was evident yet again this past week. The defense allowed 375 total yards, with 155 of those coming on the ground. Cincinnati has given up 145.5 yards per game on the ground, 25th in the NFL, and that trend did not improve as Chuba Hubbard slashed his way to his second straight 100-yard game of the season to the tune of 5.8 yards per carry.

Although the Bengals limited Andy Dalton to less than the 319 yards he amassed the prior week against the Raiders, the pass defense was far from dominant. Cam Taylor-Britt played so poorly he was benched. For the season he’s been targeted 15 times, allowing nine catches for 191 yards and two touchdowns, and on Sunday he looked overmatched. The Bengals had no sacks yet again and only managed two quarterback hits.

How May Play Out Against the Baltimore Ravens

The Bengals get precious little time to bask in their first victory of the year. This Sunday they welcome the Baltimore Ravens (2-2) into Paycor Stadium. The Ravens have played a very difficult schedule so far with games against the Chiefs, Cowboys and Bills. They lost a stinker against the Raiders but won their next two games afterwards. Baltimore looked very good against a solid Buffalo team, and its those Ravens that the Bengals will have to beat in order to keep the momentum going and to keep their postseason dreams alive.

Offensively, Chase Brown coming into his own could not have happened at a better time. The Ravens are first in the NFL in rush defense, allowing a miniscule 57.8 yards per game. This is 18 yards per game less than the next-best team, the Minnesota Vikings. The duo of Brown and Moss, and the physicality of the offensive line, will face their toughest test of the year by far. In order to continue the balanced offensive attack and relieve pressure on the passing game, the Bengals’ backs must continue their impressive streak. If Brown finds the same sort of success he’s had against the Ravens, it’s time to declare him the unquestioned starter.

It’s no secret that Burrow is both focused and determined, and he will have plenty of opportunities to put up good numbers this week. For all the success the Ravens have had stopping the run, they’ve allowed 257 yards per game through the air. This is the fourth-worst in the league. Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards against them and Dak Prescott had 379 yards. To be fair their secondary looked much better against Buffalo, limiting Josh Allen to just 180 through the air. But the fact remains that Baltimore’s secondary is vulnerable and it is something the Bengals can exploit.

If they do, though, it may turn into a shootout very quickly. The Ravens average an astonishing 220 yards on the ground each game. This is 46 yards more than the next highest. The Bengals cannot survive in this game if they do not find a way to vastly improve against the run. But what makes Baltimore so dangerous is that they can devastate opposing teams through the power run game with Derrick Henry or the speed of Lamar Jackson or even Justice Hill.

Coming into this week the Bengals front five has the lowest overall pressure rate allowed in the NFL. But they will be sorely tested, both in running the football and protecting Joe Burrow. Baltimore’s defense averages over 3 sacks per game, and they will be looking to stifle Cincinnati’s passing attack on Sunday.

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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.

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