It was a turbulent Sunday for the Cincinnati Bengals, as they managed to beat the Baltimore Ravens in a huge AFC North matchup, despite being shut out in the first half of the game.
The Bengals were down 13-0 at halftime, as the Ravens dominated time of possession, and they had a lot of success through the passing game. Joe Burrow and the Cincy offense looked as dormant as possible, and it felt like we were heading for a blowout.
However, in the second half, Cincinnati looked like themselves again, as the offense scored five touchdowns on five straight drives, with Burrow throwing four touchdown passes. The defense stepped up too, shutting the Ravens out in the second half, leading to a dominant 35-13 win.
The contrast, particularly on offence, was unbelievable: the first half was filled with Zac Taylor calling under-center passing plays and trying to force the run game to work; it really felt like the offence was running through treacle. The air raid began in the second half, and Taylor went back to scheming plays for Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, with Burrow airing it out.
Zac Taylor needs to learn from that second half
My message to Taylor is simple: Play to the Bengals' strengths; don't try to force this team to become something it isn't.
It's clear that the Bengals thought long and hard about how to improve their running game through the bye week, because that first half felt like a trial period for a new playbook. It didn't work. We have Burrow, Chase and Higgins - potentially the best offensive trio in the NFL- so just let them play to their strengths, and let them dictate this offense, rather than forcing them to play a more West Coast-style offence, which clearly didn't work.
After the game, in his postgame press conference, Burrow touched on the Bengals' aggressive offense in the second half, suggesting that it has to be something they try to unlock more often.
"We have too many great players on offense to be conservative. Credit to our coaching staff for letting us go and do it, and giving us the freedom to go and make those plays. I think that's who we have to be."
Burrow is right; there's no point in trying to play in a 'conventional' way; we just need to play to our strengths, and that's the passing game. This Bengals team has had one of the best offenses in the NFL over the past five years, and it's certainly not because of the rushing attack.
Couple that second half offense with a defense which was able to produce a shutout, this could easily be a Super Bowl calibre team...but only if Zac learns from his mistake.
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