The Cincinnati Bengals are preparing for perhaps their biggest game of the season on Sunday as they welcome the Steelers to Paycor Stadium in a Sunday Night Football battle for first place in the AFC North.
There was a lot of positive noise around the Bengals at the weekend after their win over Atlanta, but since the trade deadline, there's been more concern. AFC rivals made big moves at the deadline, with Jacksonville trading for Jessie Bates, Jordan Davis, and Davon Godchaux; the Chiefs trading for Josh Downs; and Buffalo trading for Amani Hooker.
It means that a Cincinnati franchise that didn't make any moves will have to make the most of what it has. Former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis chimed in on the season so far when he made an appearance on Bengals UK's CinciNatter Podcast, he identified three key pieces of advice for Zac Taylor on how this team can still win a championship this season...
1 - Chase Brown isn't the problem, Zac needs to run the ball more
Lewis' first message to Taylor was about the playcalling. There's been a lot of discussion around Chase Brown and the Bengals' lacklustre running game. Brown has rushed for just 397 yards on 103 carries this season, averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
However, as the talk around the Bengals needing to trade for a Jonathan Taylor ramped up, Lewis said that he doesn't believe the lack of rushing production is Brown's fault; he put it down to the play-calling.
"They’re not running the football consistently enough to take the pressure off [Joe Burrow]. I think Chase Brown is a good player, and the more last year that he got to touch the football, the better he did as well."
There's certainly an argument to agree with Lewis, as Brown has averaged the same yards per carry as the likes of Rhamondre Stevenson, Derrick Henry, and D'Andre Swift - and they aren't getting this level of criticism; perhaps it falls on Zac.
2 - The Bengals defense needs to recapture the early season form
The defense has been much improved compared to last season, but they've still allowed the eighth-most total yards per game in the NFL, which isn't necessarily going to win Cincinnati a Lombardi trophy.
Lewis says that communication between the different positions is the reason why this Cincy defense has begun to struggle. He said that early in the year he could see it, but it seems to have gone.
"Looking at the stats last week...(against Tennessee). They allowed five of 12 third-down conversions, and they gave up almost 160 rushing yards. They’ve got to get back to doing things better on defense and you play defense with 11 guys all working together; you’re interlocked, and everybody’s got to do their job, and they’ve got to do a better job."
If they can show that they can weather the storm against a Steelers offense that ranks middle of the road in terms of passing, rushing and total points, there may be optimism for this defense yet.
3 - Trust in Joe Burrow
For all the negativity, there is some positivity here, and unsurprisingly, it comes in the form of Burrow. He's become the standout candidate in the NFL for the MVP this season, and if any quarterback can carry a team, then Burrow is that quarterback.
Lewis agrees; he believes that it isn't just Burrow's talent that we should be grateful for, but the way that he can motivate and lead the team, just by being himself. He said: "I’m just really impressed with Joe Burrow- how he carries himself, the leadership that he shows; you see it, you feel it, and I think that’s a good thing."
So, step one: run the ball more. Step two: work as a unit and communicate better on defense. Step three: all hail Joseph Lee Burrow.
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