The Cincinnati Bengals started the new season 2-0 but are now back to .500 after dropping back-to-back games in weeks 3 and 4.
The Bengals now face what feels like a ‘must-win’ against an 0-4 Miami Dolphins team that has shown little life in 2026 so far.
With that being said, there is a possibility the Bengals could be without both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in Miami this upcoming weekend.
If that is the case, Cincinnati will desperately need a viable run game that can take the pressure off Joe Burrow.
The run game was quite literally nonexistent against Jacksonville on Sunday, finishing with 23 rushing yards on 15 attempts.
Chase Brown finished the day with 9 carries for a jaw-dropping 10 yards. Samaje Perine added just 7 yards on 3 carries, while Burrow finished the afternoon with 6 yards on 3 carries of his own.
This is not only unacceptable; it is truly embarrassing and puts Burrow in a position that forces him to throw the ball 54 times against a stellar Jaguars defense.
After the loss, Burrow was asked about his thoughts on the run game, and he had a very simple answer: “My response to that would be, let’s throw it more.”
As much as I admire Burrow’s mindset, that way of playing football in the NFL is simply not sustainable, and it will generate natural mistakes that will lead to turnovers.
Zac Taylor and this offense spent an incredible amount of time during this offseason working on the play action/under center offense, and it has generated no results thus far.
This is likely the last chance on Sunday for this offense to make that work before returning to a shotgun-only offense yet again.
