Bengals report card through first quarter of the 2022 season

The first four games of the 2022 season for the Cincinnati Bengals have been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. It started with two heartbreaking last-second field goals that caused the Bengals to fall back in the rankings early, however, they bounced back with two convincing wins. While one of those was against the Jets, it feels like they really made a statement with a win over the previously undefeated Dolphins, even if Tua Tagovailoa had to exit that game.

It isn't just the team as a whole that's been up-and-down through the first quarter of the season, but individual players too, which I'll be discussing in this article.

Starting with the most important piece of this team...

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

Joe Burrow

To put it simply, Burrow did not look good in the first two weeks this season. First being responsible for five turnovers in an overtime loss to the Steelers in Week 1, then looking completely lost in a second loss to the Cowboys, besides one drive where he managed to look like his 2021 self and find Tee Higgins for a touchdown.

The offensive line wasn't doing him any favors either, and after two weeks it was truly looking like this team's Super Bowl run last year was just a fluke.

Thankfully, Burrow managed to bounce back in Weeks 3 and 4 against the Jets and Dolphins respectfully, going from a statline of 537 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions with a 73.1 passer rating in games 1 and 2 to putting up 562 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions with a 115.4 passer rating in games 3 and 4.

He's not completely back to his 2021 form yet, as it definitely still feels like missing on some of his throws even in the later games of this 1st quarter, but he's getting there. If he could play more consistently then this team can find themselves making another deep playoff run this season.

Overall, I'll give Burrow a C+ after four weeks of play. He's improved considerably from games 1 and 2 to games 3 and 4, but he still looks pretty sloppy out there.