The Cincinnati Bengals‘ offense is one that strikes fear into a lot of defenses. Their offense wasn’t the only reason they got to the Super Bowl last year but it was one of the reasons for sure.
When it comes to ‘triplets’ (quarterback, running back, and wide receiver/tight end on a single roster), one would think the Bengals would be up there, if not the top option in the league.
According to Jared Dubin of CBS Sports, however, the Bengals are squarely behind the Los Angeles Chargers in the triplets rankings.
Dubin wrote:
"The Burrow-Chase connection figures to be one of the NFL’s best for a long time, and was nearly enough to nab Cincy the top spot in our rankings. As you can see from the average rankings and the fact that both teams only received votes between first and fourth, our panel considered these two teams the clear cream of the crop, a step above Buffalo. Herbert’s remarkable first two seasons, Ekeler’s breakout as maybe the league’s best pass-catching running back, and Allen’s year-to-year consistency are likely what earned Los Angeles just a single more first-place vote than Cincinnati, and made the Chargers the No. 1 team in this year’s Triplets Rankings."
Chargers outrank Bengals when it comes to triplets
While Bengals fans obviously think their squad deserves to be at the top of the rankings, it’s no slight being ranked as the second-best triplet unit in the league.
The trio of Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, and Ja’Marr Chase is one that defenses are horrified to go up against and it makes perfect sense as to why. Burrow and Chase’s connection from their LSU days carried over to the pros and it led to Burrow winning Comeback Player of the Year and Chase being named Offensive Rooke of the Year.
Meanwhile, Mixon bounced back after missing a large chunk of the 2020 season due to injury. He put together a career year and was a huge part of why the Bengals made it to the Super Bowl for the first time in over three decades.
The argument of who is better between Burrow and Justin Herbert, who were drafted the same year, is going to go on for the duration of both of their careers. Burrow has already been to a Super Bowl while Herbert has yet to make it to the playoffs. Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen are good but are they better than Mixon and Chase? Dubin seems to think so.
The rest of the top five on Dubin’s list consisted of the Bills at No. 3, the Chiefs at No. 4, and the Buccaneers at No. 5.