The Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) are nowhere near a finished product, but they might not have enough time to figure out some of their persistent problems.
Here’s what we learned from their second straight loss, a wild 22-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The lack of a running game has made this team rely on hero ball
At first, it was fun to watch Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins make toe-dragging sideline grabs.
But then, after watching the Bengals rely on similarly athletic sideline catches from Higgins, Mike Gesicki, and Mitch Tinsley just to create any semblance
of an offense against the Jaguars, something became clear: that’s the only way they know how to score points.
Whether you want to blame Chase Brown, his blocking, or both, the running game is doing next to nothing.
Brown got just 10 yards on nine carries against Jacksonville. Though he’s known as a speedy, dual-threat back, his longest run of the year is 13 yards and his longest catch is 12 yards. There is no way you’re going to consistently be able to score points with such a lack of explosion at the RB position.
Turnovers at the worst possible moments are tanking the season
In Week 3, it was the muffed punt and the Joe Burrow fumble that ended the game. In Week 4, it was a bizarre fourth-quarter Burrow interception.
Yes, mistakes happen, and even the best quarterbacks misfire on occasion.
But these seem to be an indication of a sort of nervousness or lack of preparation for the moment.
Something is going on with the Bengals mentally, and they need to get more confident in what they’re doing on the field so that they can make level-headed decisions in the clutch.
The tackling issue isn’t going away
The Bengals’ front office did a nice job of fixing the defensive line.
Dexter Lawrence, Boye Mafe, and others are consistently getting into the backfield to make plays and create pressure.
The problem is everything after that.
Dax Hill and DJ Turner are doing their part, but outside of them, the Bengals can’t seem to stop pass catchers.
Most significantly, the Bengals still can’t stop tight ends or get guys down on the first attempt.
Tight ends, in particular, have posed a problem.
Dalton Schultz had 140 yards against Cincinnati in Week 2. Darnell Washington had a 47 yard catch and run down the sideline where he evaded four tacklers to set up the game-winning field goal in Week 3. And then Brenton Strange put up 95 yards for the Jaguars in Week 4.
Giving up easy yards to opponents while not being able to get them for yourself is a bad recipe in the NFL.
Zac Taylor and the coaches have to figure out how to make things easier on their players quickly for this team to stay in contention.
