The Bengals were awful in AFC North play last year. Discounting a Week 18 game against Browns backups, the Bengals were 0-5, dominated in the trenches and outscored by 67 points.
They allowed 247 more rushing yards than the next closest division opponent in those games.
After back-to-back division titles, they were brutalized and banished to the basement.
This offseason included the departure of more than a few heroes from past battles in the North and players like DJ Reader, Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon seemingly built for this unique division.
So, my question to coach Zac Taylor was: What gives him the confidence this team is better equipped to handle the North this season?
“I think our quarterback being back helps,” Taylor said with a soft laugh.
He’s not wrong.
They’ve also never needed him more.
Cincinnati trots out a defense that’s ranged somewhere between liability and dumpster fire depending on the day. Pair that with a specific weakness stopping the run and trying to game plan for one of the most historically dominant running games through four weeks in NFL history.
Baltimore has averaged 273 yards rushing per game the last two weeks at 6.8 yards a lug. Those numbers don’t even compute. With 119 yards on the ground Sunday the Ravens will become just the second team since the original “The Terminator” was released to top 1,000 yards rushing through five games.
Derrick Henry still tosses defenders by the helmet like Arnold Schwarzenegger at the club hunting Sarah Connor. Lamar Jackson is the reigning MVP, still a cheat code and everyone’s first choice when playing Madden.
Even Ja’Marr Chase.
“That’s cheating if I’m playing Madden, RPO read with those two, boy,” Chase said with gathered media Thursday.
The Ravens laid waste to the Cowboys and Bills in a hurry by a combined first-half score of 42-9 in the past two games.
Jackson is 8-1 as a starter against the Bengals in his career and 3-1 against Burrow. Baltimore’s defensive strategy of limiting possessions and structure of patient two-high zones has traditionally given this offense fits.
So, it wasn’t motivation or by mistake that Burrow went through this week and his weekly press conference as intense as ever and directing all pressure inward.
“I’m gonna have to play damn near perfect,” he said.
For all that’s gone wrong for Cincinnati during its September slide, Burrow returned to being its trump card. He’s playing as well as any stretch of his career over the last three weeks and the offense ranks near the top of the league in nearly every relevant statistical category.
The losses, however, put even a hot franchise quarterback in a tough spot. The reality of moving to 1-4 with yet another AFC North loss and another blow delivered by the reigning division bullies would create a feeling of irrelevance and a hole starting to look too deep to escape.
|
First 5
|
Playoff %
|
Winning record %
|
|---|---|---|
|
Start 1-4
|
9%
|
16%
|
|
Start 2-3
|
23%
|
31%
|
“It’s a big game,” Burrow said. “We know what our record is, we know the opportunities we have going forward, but it’s our first divisional opponent, we’re 1-3. We need to get this one.”
Think about what a win would feel like for the Bengals, though. Burrow carries a defense that’s finally starting to get healthy up front. He takes down a team looking as dominant as any in the game over the last two weeks. He reminds everyone in the league of the force this offense can be and where his team has finished every healthy season of his career.
The Bengals would be 2-3 through five games for the third consecutive season with a win Sunday. The previous two saw Burrow lead the Bengals into the thick of the Super Bowl conversation by mid-November.
Inevitably, Sunday will be about learning.
Learning if the Bengals are complete enough to win this division again. Learning if they can conjure momentum after early duds once more. Learning if the defense can be salvaged. Learning if Burrow can outshine Jackson.
Learning if Cincinnati will be relevant in 2024.
Problems have been many for this team in the early going. The task might be daunting and the stakes might be uniquely high for Week 5, but the Bengals have Burrow. And they have the offense they’ve always wanted to build around him. That might be enough.
"We thrive in these moments… in front of our fans, that we're going to need on Sunday. I hope they're excited."
Who Dey Nation, are y'all ready?!?! pic.twitter.com/AqsKomj6uw
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 2, 2024
Burrow spoke with an edge during training camp about how his name fell out of the elite rankings and was being questioned as part of the great young quarterback conversations.
“You don’t play football, people forget about you,” Burrow said in August. “I’m going to give people something to talk about this year.”
The time for talk is over.
“It’s a big game for the Bengals,” Burrow said.
He’s not wrong.
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(Photo: Grant Halverson / Getty Images)
