Bengals: Enough with the conservative play-calling on offense

After the Cincinnati Bengals narrowly lost to the Chicago Bears 20-17 in Week 2 and something has become very apparent — The offensive play-calling is questionable right now. What can be changed?

The criticism of Cincinnati’s recent play-calling is it’s simply too predictable and conservative. The Bengals are running the ball more than expected to begin the season. Part of this is certainly due to the fact Joe Burrow’s already been sacked nine times and pass protection looks to be an issue again.

However, the predictive play-calling is not helping much at all. Instead, it’s making this offense that has the potential to be explosive very stagnant, and disappointing. It’s early in the season, so there’s no reason to panic, and there is plenty of chances for change in the coming weeks.

Cincinnati Bengals need to get creative in their play-calling

Without delving into too much, the simple answer is the play-calling needs to be more creative. Yes, Burrow is being pressured way too much once again but the team can still avoid pressure on some short, quick passes. For example, throwing screen passes to a threat in the open field, like Ja’Marr Chase, could be one option to mix it up.

Overall, more screen passes and swing passes can be utilized. There’s no problem with running Joe Mixon because the run needs to be established. There is a problem, however, when the play-calling becomes so predictable. Cincinnati is running the ball on 2nd-and-longs more than anyone in the NFL right now.

This situation is consistently set up thanks to a below-average running attack. Once again, the predictability is there since the Bengals are seventh in run percentage right now. In addition, they are 23rd in rushing yards gained on first downs when they are running it a lot on first down.

This is setting the offense up for failure. Most of the best offenses in the NFL get ahead of the chains early. They get five yards on a quick pass on first down, making it second and five. The Bengals are continuously running the ball, which constantly sets up third-down situations and even third-and-long situations. With this offensive line, you don’t want to be in third-and-longs.

Why the Bengals even decided to call games like this is confusing. All their recent draft capital has been invested in the passing attack. Jonah Williams, a talented pass blocker, was taken in the first round of the 2019 draft, Burrow was selected first in the 2020 draft, Tee Higgins was picked in the second-round in 2020, and Cincinnati recently spent a top-five pick on another receiver in Chase.

Most successful teams in the NFL have a potent passing attack, all of these picks made sense and addressed needs. The Bengals have a ton of talent in their passing game with Burrow throwing to Chase, Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. It’s time to use them more.

How the Cincinnati Bengals could become less predictable

A balance must be found. Cincinnati cannot go back to Burrow throwing around 40 passes per game like last season. The offensive line is too vulnerable right now, so Burrow cannot be put in harm’s way too much. As mentioned, be more creative, mix it up more, throw defenses off with an unexpected call.

Let’s look at what some of the best play-callers in the game do. We all know how explosive the Kansas City Chiefs are. Look at this tight end screen used with a wrinkle of misdirection.

Notice how it’s called on a 1st-and-10, making it more unpredictable. Cincinnati can use similar concepts but throw to receivers instead. Misdirection, whether it be simple shifts or fakes, could help the Bengals a lot right now.

The Dallas Cowboys are another team with a good offense. The Cowboys like to use a lot of bootlegs off of play-action. Watch this bold call on a 2nd-and-10 late in a game.

This is another concept that could work nicely for the Bengals right now. Getting your quarterback out of the pocket and running some bootlegs can sometimes protect them from pressure. If a team bites, this protects Burrow while also setting up a good call to avoid a third and long.

Cincinnati does not need to reinvent the entire offense by any means. Once again, be more creative. The ball needs to be thrown more on first and second downs. Misdirection and some play-action bootlegs could help a lot in also protecting Burrow.

The Bengals might want to take some more deep shots as well since Chase is already looking like a budding star. How Cincinnati pushes it down the field with some shaky pass blocking is a whole new challenge in itself though.

While the loss did hurt, the goals for the season have not changed. The defense has been really good to begin the season. If the Bengals open up the playbook a little bit more, Cincinnati can get right back to winning.