Much of the discussion around the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason surrounded the state of their much-maligned defense, contract disputes, and slow starts. However, most people ignored an issue that has plagued the team longer, but is just as problematic, if not more so.
The offensive line and pass protection have been a problem in Cincinnati, unfortunately, for several seasons, dating back to when Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith left the team. However, on Sunday, we saw the big men up front also struggle with run blocking.
In their 2025 season opener, the Bengals demonstrated that they still need to protect Joe Burrow more effectively. However, the Bengals have a serious problem that could derail their chances on Sunday versus the Jaguars.
After an offseason focused on pass protection and a disappointing Week 1 outing, there is reason to hope that Cincinnati’s rushing attack is on the precipice of a bounce-back game against Jacksonville. And unlike what happened in Week 1, thanks to ESPN, we know the stats will favor the Bengals on Sunday.
Bengals built to protect Joe Burrow, not power Chase Brown
One of the reasons why the Bengals struggled to get a footing in the run game is that their offensive strategies during the offseason did not concentrate on the rushing attack.
To their credit, the Bengals made some moves this offseason with the intention of improving the pass protection of Joe Burrow.
They drafted Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers in the third and fifth rounds, respectively. Additionally, the front office made a late training-camp-closing acquisition of guard Dalton Risner after a few days of flirting. However, those players are more known for their past blocking rather than their run blocking prowess.
While the team made those moves in the name of protecting Burrow, he still got sacked three times and hit seven more against the Browns.
Those signings did not happen to maximize Brown and the rushing attack. At least, that was not the primary goal. The front office majored in pass pro while minoring in the overall performance of the offensive line. The run game might have been a required class, but not at the forefront of their thinking. Or it was a book they were supposed to read, but skimmed the CliffNotes.
Now they are cramming for the next exam.
Bengals escaped Week 1, but their run game nearly cost them
So, when a critical situation arises late in the game, like against the Browns, and the Bengals need to successfully run the ball to prevent opposing quarterbacks from getting the opportunity to pull out a last-second victory, Cincinnati must find a way to run the ball.
Furthermore, the more effective they are at running the ball, the less likely they will have their game plan wrecked by a pass rush, and the less Burrow will take catastrophic hits.
While the team may have avoided the ‘slow-start’ narrative by eeking out a win in Cleveland, their rushing attack did not. Against the Browns, Cincinnati had not one, but two opportunities to run out the clock late in the fourth quarter.
On the penultimate drive, the team went -1 yard on a run, 10 yards on a pass, and then ran for zero yards. They punted with two minutes left in the game. Fortunately, the defense held up and came away with a DJ Turner interception.
On the next Bengals drive, Zac Taylor decided to run the ball, ineffectively, up the middle three consecutive times, which resulted in -10 yards. It was the epitome of running headfirst into a brick wall. Cincinnati had to punt the ball once again with 30 seconds on the clock.
The Bengals got away with not being able to close out the game with a competent rushing attack in the fourth quarter. They can't count on that happening too often.
Attempting to rush the ball with such poor results makes it understandable why the offense might go away from the rushing attack. And to their credit, Brown's 21 rushing attempts were the second most attempts in the NFL behind Christian McCaffrey's 22. However, they must eventually find a way to improve and become more efficient in that aspect of the game.
ESPN stats show Bengals should have success vs. Jaguars’ front seven
In Week 1, the Jaguars held Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard to 57 yards on 16 carries, averaging 3.6 yards per carry. However, as a team, the Panthers ran for 113 yards on 25 carries. These are the numbers we hope Brown can get to by himself. And there is reason to hope he can.
According to ESPN, Carolina’s Austin Corbett (C), Damien Lewis (LG), Taylor Morton (RG), and Yosh Nijman (LT) finished in the Top 10 in run block win rates at their respective positions, with a rate of 85% each. As a team, their 79% was the third-best of the NFL weekend.
Also of note, Yosh Nijman is the backup left tackle, as starter Ikem Ekwonu continues recovering from an emergency appendectomy.
On the other side, Jacksonville’s run stop win rate was a league-worst at 22%. Simply running behind Amarius Mims could yield better results against the Jaguars than what the Panthers produced.
An effective rushing attack will be critical for the Bengals on Sunday, as it will help mitigate Josh Allen-Hines and Jacksonville’s pass rush, hopefully preventing the sacks and types of hits that Burrow suffered against the Browns.
And, if the Bengals find themselves in another situation where they need to run out the clock and not give the ball back to Trevor Lawrence with a chance to win the game. They can just run ‘off-tackle right’ or however they call that play in their nomenclature.
Nevertheless, they should perform better against a team that had the worst run block win rate, according to ESPN. Hopefully, they can devise a better strategy and execute it more effectively against the Jaguars on Sunday that will propel the rushing attack forward in the 2025 season.