The Cincinnati Bengals are cruising right now, thanks in large part to an offense that is just too much for defenses to handle for four quarters.
Here are three things we learned from Cincinnati’s 34-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid.
This is the best offense in the NFL
It’s settled. The Bengals are better than the Buffalo Bills, the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers or any other high-flying offense, simply because their three elite players outmatch every single defense in the league.
Cincinnati is now averaging 30 points
per game and has 30 points or more in four straight games.
Against the Falcons, they didn’t turn it over, and Joe Burrow didn’t get sacked. Oh, and he threw for another three touchdowns and ran for one. He now leads the league in passing touchdowns and passing yards per game.
The best part is that, while the Bengals tend to start slow, we’re now at the point in the season where Burrow, Chase Brown, and the offensive line all get hot, which means (barring injury) this train isn’t slowing down.
Ja’Marr Chase is happy again
Though a superstar, Chase is truly a team player.
So he bit his tongue while the Bengals played around with the under center stuff that saw his numbers take a hit.
But the Ravens game seemed to help the offense gain clarity about who they are. Now, after not getting 100 yards receiving his first six games, Chase has gone over 140 in back-to-back games.
Cincinnati is back to being the Burrow-Chase-Higgins show, and Uno’s energy and body language show that he’s ready to regularly torch teams again.
The defense need a drive or two to get going
That’s the third straight game where the opponent surprised the Bengals by taking a lead (though not as big as the leads the Ravens or Titans took).
And in all three games, the Bengals’ defense slowed down opposing offenses, especially their running backs, after those early bursts.
On Sunday, it was Bijan Robinson who was held to just 58 yards on 16 carries following a huge opening drive, in which he had 42 yards on just three carries.
It’s not perfect, but it does show you that the defense is capable of stepping up once Burrow and company put on their fireworks every game.
