Bengals rank among all NFL teams in rushing yards should be major cause for concern

After a slow start to the season, the Cincinnati Bengals have been playing much better football as of late. They've won three out of their last four games and climbed back into the playoff picture in the AFC in the process. However, they're still far from perfect, and their rank among all NFL teams in rushing yards is a major cause for concern.

Bengals near the bottom of the league in rushing yards and attempts

Through seven games of action, the Bengals have ran for a total of 660 yards, which is the sixth-fewest league-wide. Only the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns have rushed for fewer yards so far this season. At this point in the season, none of those teams look like legitimate playoff contenders, at all, so it's not necessarily a group that the Bengals want to be associated with.

When you look at rushing yards per performance, the outlook is even worse. The Bengals are averaging 94.3 yards per game on the ground. That's fourth-worst league-wide, behind only Dallas, New York and Las Vegas.

Part of the problem is scheme-related, as the Bengals simply haven't made it a priority to pound the ground game. They have 157 rushing attempts on the current campaign. That equates to 22.4 rushing attempts per game, which unsurprisingly is one of the lowest numbers in the league. Only the Jets, Seahawks and Cowboys are averaging fewer attempts per performance.

For comparison's sake, the Baltimore Ravens, who lead the league in rushing this season, are running the ball over 34 times per game. So, some of their success on the ground is simply predicated on their commitment to it -- something the Bengals haven't demonstrated.

Now, the Bengals have one of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL in Joe Burrow, so it makes sense that the team would want to tap into his skill set as a passer as much as possible. No one is suggesting otherise. However, it would be in the Bengals best interest to strike a better balance between passing and rushing, as doing so would make it more difficult for defenses to prepare for Burrow's aerial attack.

After scoring 34-plus points in three straight games, Cincinnati's offense has scored just 38 total points over the past two contests. Doing a better job of establishing the ground game could help them to open up the offense again.

Bengals back Chase Brown is averaging five yards per carry on the season. Finding some additional opportunity for him could be a major positive for the Bengals against the Eagles in Week 8, and beyond.