The Cincinnati Bengals have often had trouble running the ball during the Joe Burrow era. As we witnessed this past Sunday, though, if you just let Burrow drop back to pass often enough, elite production and offensive fireworks will follow. Five straight touchdown drives. Not bad.
That's all well and good in October, but once the playoffs roll around and Mother Nature is a bigger factor, pounding the rock becomes paramount.
As things stand at the minute, Cincinnati isn't a balanced enough offense to win the Super Bowl. That's the end goal for this team. They are indeed very much in the mix for the Lombardi Trophy.
So what can the Bengals do to fix this issue, as they rank bottom-five in yards per carry (3.6)? A couple easy tweaks come to mind.
More jumbo sets with Jacob Bayer as an extra offensive lineman
We've seen mere flashes of this during the season (five snaps at inline tight end to be precise), but the more often Jacob Bayer can be on the field, the better off and more multiple the Bengals' ground game should be.
When the Miami Dolphins were struggling last season amid a 1-6 start, they deployed Daniel Brunskill as a de facto extra inline tight end. Their rushing attack proceeded to take off. Bayer could be utilized in similar fashion, especially now that Erick All Jr. is sadly out for the season with a torn ACL.
Not many had Bayer on the radar to make the 53-man roster in the first place. He was just too good in training camp and the preseason to deny.
Hilariously, when the Bengals beat the Dolphins in Week 5, Bayer bulldozed Cincinnati center Ted Karras in a case of friendly fire. Bayer went in motion prior to the snap as a lead blocker. And yes, the Bengals converted on 3rd and 1.
I get that you don't want to go too heavy in personnel packages too often when Burrow is so good at spreading defenses out and going empty. That said, maybe Chase Brown and/or Samaje Perine could get something more going with a little more oomph in the trenches courtesy of Bayer's presence.
What ever happened to Landon Robinson at fullback?
As far back as mid-August, rookie seventh-round pick Landon Robinson was getting talked up as a potential fullback in training camp practice.
Unfortunately, that wrinkle hasn't come to pass. Robinson has fallen victim to a numbers game at defensive tackle. The coaching staff is loyal to a fault to 2024 second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. despite his longstanding inefficacy, relegating Robinson to healthy scratch status.
I would love to see the 295-pound Robinson get after it as a fullback type. He has a squatty build, is incredibly explosive, and would take joy in pancaking linebackers in the hole.
Just a reminder that Robinson is a legit elite athlete who draws comparisons to Bengals legend Geno Atkins. And that's how he first popped onto my radar, because the trainer for both men likened them to each other.
Landon Robinson vs Geno Atkins, RAS pic.twitter.com/Kl5mt25xIt
— 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 (@BengalsCaptain) April 25, 2026
IDK. The running game is pretty bummy cheeks at this point. Might be worth digging deeper into the playbook, Zac Taylor, and giving these fellas in Bayer and Robinson some play.
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