3 biggest problems Bengals need to fix before Week 4 game vs. Panthers

After three weeks of action, the Cincinnati Bengals are just one of three winless teams remaining in the NFL, along with the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bengals really don't want to stat 0-4, as only one team in NFL history has rebounded from such a start to make the playoffs. So, a win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 4 is imperative.

Here's a look at three problems the Bengals need to fix before their showdown with Carolina in order to give themselves the best chance of walking away with their first win of the season.

A porous defensive line

The Bengals have had an extremely tough time stopping the run early on this season. All three teams they've played so far -- New England, Kansas City and Washington -- gained over 100 yards on the ground against Cincinnati's defense, and that opponent ground success has had a direct impact on the ultimate outcome in each contest.

Cincinnati allowed 427 total rushing yards over the first three weeks, which is an average of 142.3 per game. Both numbers rank in the bottom fourth of the league. Stopping the run is a team effort, but at starts at the defensive line, and the Bengals simply have to be better there. They have to do a better job of generating pressure in the backfield, and a better job of preventing backs from breaking through into the secondary.

They'll have a tough test against Chuba Hubbard, who is coming off of a 114-yard performance against the Raiders. Limiting his production could be a major key to success for Cincinnati in Week 4.

Failure to establish their own ground game

The Bengals have failed to slow the ground game of their opponents, and they've also failed to establish their own ground game, despite some promising play from both Zack Moss and Chase Brown.

Cincinnati had just 268 total rushing yards (89.3 rushing yards per game) over the first three weeks of the season. Only four teams -- the Las Vegas Raiders, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams -- have fewer rushing yards than Cincinnati so far.

This is largely a scheme issue, as the Bengals have the second-fewest team rushing attempts (58) in the league. They've averaged a respectable 4.6 yards per rushing attempt, but the overall attempts just haven't been there.

The Bengals are always going to be a pass-first team as long as Joe Burrow is under center, and understandably so, but they need to strike a better balance between rushing and passing moving forward.

Lack of wide receiver involvement

Ja'Marr Chase busted out of his own personal slow start in a big way in Week 3 with a two touchdown, 118-yard performance. But, while Chase was able to get going, the same can't be said about the rest of Cincinnati's wide receivers.

Outside of Chase, no other receiver on the Bengals has 100 total receiving yards on the season. Cincinnati's second-leading receiver on the season is tight end Mike Gesicki and their fourth-leading receiver is running back Zack Moss. Andrei Iosivas has been productive in the Red Zone with three touchdown catches, but he has just 85 total yards on the season. Charlie Jones and Trenton Irwin have combined for three catches.

Moving forward, Joe Burrow has to get some of the other receivers on the team more involved. Tee Higgins was relatively quiet in his debut against Washington, but having him back should help to open up the offense. The more weapons that the Bengals can establish, the more difficult they'll be to defend.