A not-insignificant factor as to why Cincinnati Bengals superstar quarterback Joe Burrow keeps getting sidelined by injuries is all the hits he's taken throughout his career behind poor pass protecting offensive lines.
Now to be fair, some of that is Cincinnati's system. Burrow loves to be in the shotgun and operate out of a lot of empty formations. That puts the o-line in a tough spot with so many true pass sets.
But the running game has struggled to get rolling or diversify much in the Burrow era. That is, until head coach Zac Taylor decided to swap out tenured offensive line coach Frank Pollack in favor of Scott Peters for the 2025 season. The change of pace is paying massive dividends.
Bengals offensive line coach Scott Peters is finally fixing a unit that's failed Joe Burrow too often
Sometimes, you just need a new voice on the coaching staff. A new approach. Scott Peters is nothing if not unconventional, encouraging his players to incorporate mixed martial arts tactics when they engage with defenders in the trenches.
Taylor just gave Peters his flowers in his last press conference, saying, per Mike Petraglia of CLNSCincy.com, "I think he's done a great job of getting the best out of all these guys."
And that couldn't be truer.
The results were super ugly early on as Peters got settled. Bengals tailback Chase Brown averaged 2.3 yards per carry in September. Burrow suffered his turf toe injury that month in Week 2 due to a pass protection breakdown.
Cut to now. While Burrow was rehabbing, Joe Flacco got to play behind a much-improved group of pass blockers and balled out when healthy. Rookie third-rounder Dylan Fairchild is coming on strong at left guard. Amarius Mims looks worthier of his 2024 Day 1 draft status with each passing week. Those two youngsters are the most critical pieces to the long-term future of this unit.
Brown saw his yards per carry spike to 6.3 in October, and it held at a healthy 5.1 this past month. He's had six straight games of 100+ scrimmage yards, which seemed like an impossible eventual reality through Week 4 at least.
Some of the numbers are ridiculous. It's like Cincinnati went from having a bunch of guys who forgot how to block to a formidable quintet working in near-perfect harmony almost overnight.
So Scott peters is the man got it https://t.co/xcaq1I1rKq
— Cincy Jake (@CincyFanJake) December 3, 2025
The instinct for many of us Bengals fans is to not be patient. I reckon we're right not to be.
We're dangerously close to missing the playoffs for a third straight season of Burrow's prime. That's not acceptable. But all the nonsense that's happened since that Super Bowl LVI run and subsequent AFC Championship Game could be setting the stage for something special in 2026 and beyond.
Or...can we still get into the postseason dance this year? Well, if Scott Peters keeps progressing his position group at the rate he is, opponents will be even less inclined to want any part of facing Burrow in a game of serious significance.