‘That’s a Really Good Question’ – Bengals at a Loss, Despite the Win, for What Happened Offensively

[Arkansas Bengal]

 

 

The Cincinnati Bengals had their best start in the last 10 games, then it all fell apart, and no one seems to know why.

 

By Jay Morrison

October 15, 2023 | 8:25 PM EDT

 

CINCINNATI — The ascension of the Cincinnati Bengals offense with quarterback Joe Burrow’s injured calf nearing full strength was a sight to see Sunday afternoon in a 17-13 win against the Seahawks.

 

And then it wasn’t.

 

What Changed for the Cincinnati Bengals Offense?

The Bengals went 65 yards in 13 plays to score a touchdown on their opening drive. Eleven of the 13 plays were passes, with Burrow completing nine of them, including an eight-yard pass to Tyler Boyd for the touchdown.

 

Second drive, same result — only with more thrust. The Bengals went 73 yards in seven plays, two of which were explosives — completions of 31 and 23 yards to Ja’Marr Chase on back-to-back plays.

 

The possession ended with rookie wide receiver Andrei Iosivas catching his first career touchdown pass on his 24th birthday.

 

 

Everything was clicking. Burrow completed 15 consecutive passes, and a Bengals team that hadn’t scored a first-half offensive touchdown through the first four games had just scored back-to-back touchdowns on its first two drives since Christmas Eve, giving the team all the points it would need in a 17-13 victory.

 

Over the course of the next eight possessions, not including the game-ending kneel down, the Bengals would manage just 77 yards and five first downs.

What the heck happened?

 

“That’s a really good question,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “We’ll have to watch it and see because (we) felt like we had some opportunities. We weren’t in a great flow. But it’s really hard for me to put my thumb on it, and I’ll have to check it out.”

 

“The good news is we found a way to (win),” he added.

 

Burrow was equally as puzzled. And while he said multiple times he would never apologize for a win, it was clear he was miffed about the way the offense turtled after the first two drives.

 

“Offense was really good in the first half; we were horrible in the second half,” he said. “I’ve learned winning is too hard in this league not to appreciate wins. So I’m going to enjoy it. But there’s still a lot of room to improve and a lot of room to grow.”

 

Had the Bengals defense not played like bullies in the red zone, there would be a lot of hard questions for Taylor, Burrow, and the rest of the offense. They easily could be 2-4 heading into their bye week, with San Francisco and Buffalo sitting on the other side.

 

Winning three of their last four to climb back to .500 at 3-3 somewhat salves the sting of such an awful final 42 minutes.

 

The Bengals already have two head-scratching clunkers on their ledger this season with the 24-3 loss at Cleveland in Week 1 and the 27-3 blowout at Tennessee in Week 4. After those losses, there were more answers in the immediate aftermath than the throwing up of hands and shrugs that came after today’s victory.

 

“The wins and losses, to be honest with you, we draw from all of them equally,” Taylor said. “I think we’ve just got a lot of confidence as a team that we’ll figure out a way at the end to close it out. And this was one of those games.”

 

“At times, it felt ugly, especially on offense,” he added. “But our defense stepped up and made some big plays for us. It allowed us to get out of there (with a win).”

 

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/bengals-at-a-loss-despite-win-for-what-happened-offensively-nfl-week-6-2023/