The Cincinnati Bengals are sitting pretty at 5-2, which sounds awesome until you dig into the ugly truth: their offense still hasn’t played a complete game all season. It’s a head-scratcher, truly. This is a team that brought back all 11 starters from last year, runs the same system under head coach Zac Taylor, and has miraculously avoided any major offensive injuries. So, why isn’t it clicking on all cylinders?
Winning When They Shouldn’t
Offensive tackle Amarius Mims put it best, talking about their current state: “we have not put a full game of offense together, but that just goes to show you how scary our team is.” Scary is right. Mims wasn’t holding back, adding, “We’re literally going out there playing two solid quarters and still finding a way to win, like that’s unheard of. I feel like most teams lose those games, but that just goes to show you, like we’re doing something right … in the moments where it matters the most.” And he’s got a point. For the past two years, these Bengals would have blown games like their Week 8 win over the Titans, mostly because their defense used to be a liability in one-score contests. Quarterback Joe Burrow echoed the sentiment, admitting, “We’ve lost too many to not enjoy the ones when you do.”
That Titans game was wild. Burrow threw three interceptions, yet somehow managed to unleash five touchdown passes *and* snag a rushing touchdown in overtime. The team finished with four turnovers. Four! Despite all that chaos, wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins went off, combining for 21 catches, 296 yards, and three touchdowns. Burrow summed it up perfectly, “Glad we got it done. A lot of good and a lot of bad, but we were able to pull it out.” Talk about a rollercoaster! Burrow has actually thrown 13 touchdown passes over the last three games, so the arm is clearly there, even if the consistency in avoiding turnovers isn’t quite dialed in. Chase was reportedly emotional during the game, and Burrow said it was all because of his receiver’s “desire for excellence snap in and out.” That tells you everything about the standard these guys hold themselves to.
The Gauntlet Ahead And The Untapped Potential
With Burrow, Chase, and Higgins all locked up for the next two seasons, the window is wide open, and the expectations are through the roof. They’ve seen what championship teams look like. Burrow himself pointed out that during their 2021-22 championship runs, the team played its best football by December. The Bengals are hoping to hit that stride this month.
A 5-2 record is absolutely a great spot to be in, but the schedule is about to get brutal. They’ve got an international game coming up on November 8 in Madrid against Atlanta on NFL Network. Then it’s Sunday night, November 15, against Pittsburgh on NBC, followed by a Monday night showdown on November 23 against Washington on ESPN, and finally, a game on November 29 against New Orleans. Only one of those teams, the Steelers, currently has a winning record at 6-2, but the game times and locations alone are a challenge. The Bengals absolutely need to figure out how to start games faster on offense. Spotting teams double-digit first-half leads is a recipe for disaster, and it’s not sustainable.
Mims is still looking at the bigger picture though, and it’s a terrifying thought for the rest of the league. “I’m just excited for the fact of … we haven’t played a complete game,” he said. “I know I haven’t played my best. I know everybody else hasn’t played their best. But imagine whenever we do click, we’re winning now. Imagine how many more points we can win by once everybody starts clicking and the offense starts like really going.” That’s the real story here: a 5-2 team that hasn’t even scratched the surface of its potential. If they figure it out, the rest of the league needs to watch out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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