The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off their bye week. They’re 3-2, and so far, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag so far.
They started the season looking dominant against the Buccaneers and Texans (who have won just two games between them at this point in the season), but then suffered disappointing losses to the Steelers and Jaguars before running away from Miami with an ugly victory over the winless Dolphins in Week 5.
With no Bengals football to watch this weekend, let’s take a look at how the rushing and passing offenses have fared in the first five games, assign a grade to each, and then determine the overall offensive grade.
Zac Taylor, once again, entered the season talking a big game about establishing a more balanced offense. The Bengals spent a lot of training camp working with Joe Burrow taking snaps under center, and they really tried to force the issue in the first few games of the season.
It didn’t exactly work.
The Bengals have the seventh fewest rushing yards in the league, are averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, and have scored just two rushing touchdowns this season. Perhaps most damning of all, their longest run of the season was just 13 yards, the shortest of any NFL team’s longest run. And that run goes back to Week 1.
Chase Brown has outscored Samaje Perine so far, 71-27, but that trend changed a bit in Week 5 against the Dolphins. The Bengals appear to have abandoned their commitment to the run with Burrow under center and instead lean more toward running out of the shotgun, an approach that seems to suit Perine better.
Of course, Brown has also proven himself to be a reliable receiver out of the backfield, so he shouldn’t have much trouble staying on the field moving forward. Meanwhile, it has become painfully obvious that the Bengals coaching staff has little, if any, faith in Tahj Brooks.
For the first time in Burrow’s career, he had the same five starting offensive linemen in front of him for consecutive seasons. While they’ve done a better job protecting him than in years past, this offensive line is built primarily to keep Burrow upright, not necessarily open up running lanes.
In the end, running the game was a disappointment, but there is one important thing to point out.
According to PFF, the four highest-rated run defenses in the NFL belong to the Buccaneers, Steelers, Jaguars, and Texans, with grades of 79.5, 76.3, 75.0, and 74.8, respectively.
In other words, four of the Bengals’ first five opponents were the best in the league at stopping the run.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s rushing offense ranks 18th in the NFL with a PFF grade of 70.9.
That’s worth considering before completely writing off the running game, but the production just hasn’t been good enough.
Rushing-Offense Grade: 71% (C-)
This is the identity of the Bengals’ offense, and it’s not particularly difficult to understand why.
Burrow is an elite quarterback, and Cincinnati boasts the best wide-receiver duo in the NFL in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, who are both legitimate No. 1 receiver on almost any team in the league.
The offensive line was designed to keep the Burrow clean, and so far, it’s done a decent job. Considering what we’ve seen from Bengals offensive lines in recent years, that’s quite a compliment.
Chase and Higgins are weapons 1 and 1A. It’s understandable that opposing defenses are doing everything they can to get rid of them, creating opportunities for players like Mike Gesicki, Dohnte Meyers, and Brown to get out of the backfield.
Unfortunately, Andrei Iosivas ended up on injured reserve after tearing a ligament in his thumb that required surgery. While he is expected to return at some point this season, his absence exposed a large gap between the Bengals’ top two receivers and the rest of the depth chart.
Through five games, Burrow has thrown for 1,361 yards (sixth in the NFL), 11 touchdowns (fourth), and just three interceptions (tied for second-fewest). Higgins leads the team with 423 receiving yards, while Chase and Gesicki have each caught four touchdown passes.
These are impressive numbers, especially considering the Bengals have struggled to establish any kind of consistent rushing attack. Opposing defenses know Cincinnati likes to throw the football, and Burrow and company still put up strong numbers in the air.
There were some frustrating stretches, however, and the passing game didn’t always look as explosive or consistent as you’d expect from an offense featuring this much talent.
Still, if this looks like a typical “slow” start for Burrow and the Bengals’ passing offense, there’s reason to believe they can come out of the bye week firing on all cylinders.
Passing-Offense Grade: 89% (B+)
The Bengals’ offense has as much star power as any unit in the NFL, but too often, it seems to get in its own way.
Taylor’s play-calling can be frustratingly conservative, and at times, the offense lacks the creativity you’d expect from a unit with so many talented players begging for touches.
The inability to establish a consistent rushing attack made the offense more one-dimensional, putting more pressure on Burrow and his receivers to carry the load.
Fortunately, they are talented enough to do exactly that.
But there’s a difference between having the talent to be one of the NFL’s best offenses and actually performing like one week in and week out.
Through five games, the Bengals offense has been good. Not great, but good.