1. Underperforming stars
Outside of Ja'Marr Chase, there is not a single person on this offense performing to the normal standard. Joe Mixon has been productive from time to time, but I wouldn't say he's doing anything astounding for the offense.
Tee Higgins has struggled mightily aside from one game. Tyler Boyd has been almost nonexistent all season long. The tight end room is as poor as any room in the entire NFL. The offensive line has been better than last year but still not that great.
Defensively, they looked very good against the Rams, but against the Titans, I wouldn't say any player on that defense was good with missed tackle after missed tackle and blown coverage after blown coverage. It's just a repetitive trend of inconsistency.
Superstars perform like superstars, and that's what we saw last year when the Bengals went to the AFC Championship and the year prior when they appeared in the Super Bowl. Through four weeks, we haven't seen any such thing.
The Bengals head to Arizona to take on the 1-3 Cardinals with two weeks left before the Bengals get a much-needed bye week. Cincinnati desperately needs to find a way to be 3-3 entering the bye, or things could get interesting and not for the right reasons.