Bengals' rookie-driven offensive line upgrade may save Duke Tobin's job

The Cincinnati Bengals scored 80 points over the previous two games and still managed to lose. That is what happened, and that is what everyone is seizing on.

Another way to look at it is the Cincinnati Bengals' offense is humming behind their third starting quarterback of the year, improved offensive line play, and has peaked by averaging 37 points over the past three weeks.

It's easy to dwell on the negative, especially after the heartbreaking fashion in which Cincinnati lost to the Chicago Bears, despite scoring 42 points.

But there is an unexpected positive narrative that, if we look closely enough, could save Zac Taylor and maybe even Duke Tobin. And perhaps the season.

Amid chaos, Bengals o-line and rookies quietly thriving

If we are going to heap much-deserved blame on the front office and the defense, we must also recognize the fact that this offense has been spectacular, yet no one wants to discuss it right now.

We should also be discussing it because one of the reasons it is operating efficiently is thanks to the extreme turnaround of the offensive line and the much-improved play of two rookies who are holding up the 2025 Bengals draft class.

Ted Karras, Amarius Mims, and Orlando Brown Jr deserve credit. But rookies Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers are saving this year's draft class and, quite possibly, Duke Tobin's and Zach Taylor's jobs.

2025 NFL Draft paying dividends despite defensive misses

After drafting Shamar Stewart in the first round and Demetrius Knight in the second, the Bengals selected Fairchild in the third round and Rivers in the fifth.

From the start, the team expected Fairchild to start at left guard. One of the smartest things that the team did was immediately decide that Fairchild would stay on the left side, where he played his entire career while at Georgia.

Fairchild has been dealing with a knee injury since week five against the Detroit Lions. Now that he has returned to the starting lineup over the past two weeks, he is playing like he never wants to leave it ever again.

Against the New York Jets, Fairchild grabbed the attention of Troy Vincent, the NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations. Vincent named the Bengals’ rookie guard as Week 8’s ‘Way to Play’ award winner.

Also, against the Bears, The 33rd Team ranked Fairchild third-best in the league in lowest pressure rates allowed by rookie offensive linemen.

The coaching staff did not expect Rivers to be thrown into the fire so quickly. But now that he is there, he is settling in nicely. 

For his part, Rivers ranked third in lowest pressure rates allowed by rookie offensive linemen in Week 8 against the Jets. 

In Week 9, PFSN rated the Bengals’ offensive line 10th best according to their Impact Metric.

Do you hear that? That silence is the sound of no one complaining about the guard play along the offensive line. And it has been there for a few weeks now, except the defense’s play has been deafeningly loud.

Bengals' offensive line turnaround nothing short of remarkable

After the second week of the season, it is nearly impossible to imagine that Cincinnati's offensive line would rank in the top 10 of any metric or ranking. 

About a month ago, we noticed that there were signs that head coach Zack Taylor was once again sprinkling his magic onto an underperforming and underwhelming offensive line unit. Now, what started as a spark has officially ballooned into a three-alarm fire of fantastic offensive line play.

What was once considered the reason why Cincinnati would not succeed this season has, without much ballyhoo surrounding it, turned into one of the better units in the NFL. 

And, much of that can be credited to the improved play of their rookies, Fairchild and Rivers.

Credit where it is due to Zac Taylor & Duke Tobin

Head coach Zac Taylor and Director of Player Personnel and de facto GM Duke Tobin are under the microscope for having not only the worst defense in the NFL this year, but perhaps a historically bad unit.

Tobin is justifiably facing the most criticism of his career thanks to the misses of recent high draft picks. For example, any scout who watched Texas A&M defensive van Shamar Stewart play football should not have come away with the conclusion that he should have been selected in the first round over other, more productive, and just better talent in April's draft class.

With that said, the offensive coaching staff and personnel department deserve a great deal of praise for their efforts to address the offensive line, which was perceived by some as the Bengals' most significant deficit and hindrance.

Suppose Fairchild and Rivers can continue to perform at the level at which they have over the past few weeks, and improve along the way. In that case, they deserve much credit for identifying Day 2 and 3 draft picks who, as rookies, are playing a critical role in the offense's success.

Can Bengals do enough after the bye to save Zac Taylor and Duke Tobin?

However, looking at the wave of criticism crashing upon their shores, it is hard to see that these rookies’ performances will be enough to save the sinking ship that is Tobin's job here in the Queen City.

And, despite the remarkable offensive success, Tobin might take Taylor down with the ship.

Nevertheless, suppose Tobin and or Taylor are with the team in 2026. In that case, the primary reason will be not only a miraculous turnaround in the standings, but also their ability to point to two rookies in the draft class that helped buoy one of, if not the, NFL's best offenses.

Whether guards Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers are doing enough to save jobs remains to be seen. But for now, they are doing enough to save their starting spots along an offensive line that was searching for any consistency just a month ago. 

That is something that the organization and fans should be ecstatic about.

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