The Cincinnati Bengals have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and the best wide receiver duo to boot. Meanwhile, the primary focus for fans is the porous defense that showed signs of life towards the end of the 2025 season.
So, with the offensive weaponry and a defense that needs addressing, it is understandable why no one wants to hear about the team running the ball more. Also, the number of rushing attempts is less interesting than how much cap space and resources the team should invest in a premier pass rusher.
However, one of the most significant changes they could make with minimal capital would be to commit to the rushing game and to Chase Brown. Running the ball more could be the secret to the Bengals’ success in 2026.
2025 season another example of Zac Taylor’s impatience with running the ball
This season, the Bengals were 31st in team rushing play percentage in 2024 and 2023.
Even with Joe Burrow missing 10 games this year, the Bengals had the second-most passing attempts in the NFL behind the Arizona Cardinals, who fired their head coach, Jonathan Gannon, earlier this week.
Coach Taylor felt the need to pass the ball a lot to keep up with opposing offenses that were boat-racing his defense. However, an effective rushing attack could have shortened some of those contests and subjected the quarterbacks to less punishment, especially early in the season.
Yeah, but no. Cincinnati finished with the fourth-fewest rushing attempts in the league. Only the Cardinals, Raiders, and Titans had fewer. Each of those three teams is currently searching for its next head coach.
An effective rushing attack when facing good pass rushers is something that Joe Burrow spoke about in a press conference last year.
Joe Burrow knows the Bengals offense has no chance at sustained attack if they can’t run the ball effectively. pic.twitter.com/gn1X4qAYlS
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) October 27, 2024
Joe Burrow inherited Zac Taylor’s run game problem
An underreliance on rushing the ball is a hallmark of Taylor’s offense in the Burrow era. However, it precedes Burrow’s arrival.
The Bengals have ranked 25th (2019), 18th (2020), 19th (2021), 29th (2022), 30th (2023), 31st (2024), and 29th (2025) in rushing attempts since Taylor took over as head coach.
Cincinnati’s head coach and de facto offensive coordinator had the sixth-most passing attempts in the NFL with Andy Dalton and Ryan Finley as his quarterbacks in 2019.
And pretty soon, we might want to put the star QB on a pitch count before he has to take a trip to consult with now-retired LSU grad, Dr. James Andrews.
The team made it to the Super Bowl by throwing less and rushing more in 2021. They ranked 20th in rushing play percentage that season.
However, since then, there has seemingly been an effort to run less and throw more. It just so happens that the highest number of passing attempts combined with ranking near the bottom of the NFL in rushing carries coincide with the past three seasons’ disappointing results and an injured Burrow in two of those campaigns.
The Bengals’ turnaround starts with running the ball
Chase Brown is an excellent running back whom the Bengals should count on more. He is one of the best at his position in the NFL. However, you might not know it unless you are a Bengals fan or a fantasy football player.
Brown had another great, yet understated, season, rushing for over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career and setting career marks in targets (88), receptions (69), receiving yards (437), and total yards from scrimmage (1,456). He ranked 17th in rushing attempts this season.
Nevertheless, the Bengals, again, were near the bottom of the league in rushing attempts.
No, the Bengals should not draft Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love with the 10th overall pick in April’s draft.
However, that should not preclude them from acquiring, or using, another back to complement and spell Brown to get more attempts on the ground.
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Good teams have multiple rushers
As the Bengals’ RB2, Samaje Perine’s 84 rush attempts ranked 57th while being second on the team in yards.
In 2025, there were 21 teams with two rushers who had more carries than Cincinnati’s second-leading rusher. Among those teams, there were six that had three players with more, or as many, rushing attempts as Perine. Those being the Patriots, Giants, Buccaneers, Chargers, Broncos, and Jaguars.
The 10 teams that had only one rusher with more attempts than Perine are the Cardinals, Saints, Browns, Dolphins, Titans, Jets, Cowboys, Raiders, Ravens, and Colts.
All of those teams have one glaring thing in common with the Bengals: they did not make the playoffs. And six of the 10 have a head coaching vacancy to fill this offseason.
Along with the Bengals, only the Saints, Jets, Cowboys, and Colts are sticking with their head coaches in 2026.
No, rushing attempts are not the ultimate metric for deciding whether a team is good. However, in 2025, rushing the ball more gave teams a clear advantage over those that ran less. That advantage increased with those teams that could confidently count on a second back to help carry the burden of the rushing attack on his shoulders.
What the Bengals’ run game should look like in 2026
The easiest and most frugal way to address the lack of rushing would be to give Brown and Perine more carries. To that end, the offense could look to a familiar example in the Los Angeles Rams for spiritual guidance.
Kyren Williams and Blake Corum had 259 and 145 rushing attempts for the Rams, respectively. However, that did not diminish what could be an MVP season from quarterback Matthew Stafford, who led the league in passing yards and touchdowns.
It is early, but as of today, there is no reason to think the Bengals could not add Tahj Brooks to the practice squad next year. That is, unless he has a breakout preseason where it looks like he could push Perine for RB2.
If the coaching staff does not want to use Perine more, although they should, they must find someone who inspires them to run the ball more. Ideally, that person would be a Day-3 pick, like Kyle Monangai, for Chicago.
Speaking of the playoff-bound Bears, their attempts and splits between D’Andre Swift (223) and Monangai (169) are another example for the Bengals to consider.
If the Bengals want to improve upon a disappointing 2025 season, they must figure out a way to get more effective rushing attempts out of a playcaller who does not wish to, or can’t, plan a game plan with the intention of running the ball.