The Cincinnati Bengals are in regroup mode after they lost a second game in a row over the weekend. They fell 22-17 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and are now back to .500 in a flash. It's not quite panic stations yet, but there are some concerns that Zac Taylor needs to address.
During the Jaguars' loss, the offense really struggled at times. Aside from the injuries to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, it wasn't Joe Burrow's best game, although he did put up a lot of passing yards. Burrow threw for 428 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two avoidable interceptions.
The Bengals QB ended with a rating of 86.0 and a sour taste in his mouth after what was one of his more regrettable performances in recent memory. But he can't take all the blame, because it is quite hard to operate an offense that has no run game whatsoever. Chase Brown managed to rush for just 10 yards on nine carries, which is frankly embarrassing for him, the offensive line, and the Bengals' coaching staff.
Offensively, Cincy has taken a big step back from last year. Considering that this was meant to be a top-five unit in the NFL, after four weeks, you'd probably only think of it as being average.
The Bengals' red zone numbers are a concern
Moving the ball in the first place hasn't neccessarily been the issue for this Bengals offense, although they did leave themselves in too many third and long situations on Sunday. The problem has been overall scoring, as they're really struggling in the red zone.
The Bengals are currently 23rd in the NFL in terms of red zone touchdown percentage, scoring seven points just 50% of the time they get inside the 20. For reference, that is the same as Cleveland's and Tennessee's offences.
Looking at the stats for the past two years, last year the Bengals ranked third in the NFL, converting 66.67% of their red zone trips to touchdowns, and in 2024, they ranked fifth. There has to be something systematically wrong, as you've got to bear in mind that the Bengals were third in 2025, and Joe Burrow missed nine games, so how have we seen such a downgrade?
Burrow clearly isn't to blame; although he's not playing his best football, the blame has to land on Taylor and the coaching staff. The lack of a run game is perhaps the biggest issue here, as I think about how many teams are able to just punch the ball into the end zone - it feels like the Bengals never do that.
The next game against the Dolphins is a great chance for this offense to get right again, but potentially without both of his star receivers, Burrow may need to rely on more of a run game; Chase Brown, the O-line and Zac Taylor need to provide it.
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