The Cincinnati Bengals had been searching for a game in which the offense looked like the 2021 version of itself.And their performance against the Saints in Week 6 was closest they’ve been to resembling last year’s AFC Championship winning offense. It took head coach Zac Taylor, offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and Burrow a few weeks to figure out what wasn’t going to work this season.The Bengals’ offense looks different this year for a few reasons. Mainly, they are learning how to adapt on the fly faster. Taylor has implemented more play-action into his offense and Burrow has played under center more this year than he did last year. That’s not to say they are going away from what made them lethal in 2021 running the offense out of the shotgun and hitting explosive plays left and right.This is all part of a young quarterback’s evolution in the NFL.Cincinnati Bengals analysis:How Bengals' Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase found their mojo again“Whatever the gameplan calls for every week is going to be different,” Burrow said. “Last week we were able to get the RPOs going. We’ll see how the week goes and see what we end up doing this week. But I feel good about where we’re at.”In the Bengals’ win over the Saints, they scored 30 points. It was the first time they’ve done that this year. Burrow also connected wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase on a game-winning, explosive-play touchdown. He also scrambled around the field for first downs when it was needed.Burrow’s pocket also was clean for majority of the game. He was sacked three times. This is what everyone hoped the 2022 offense looked like considering they returned all their starters at the skill positions and upgraded their offensive line free agency.The main knock on the Bengals’ offense right now is their inability to start a game with a lead. And according to Taylor, that’s No. 1 on his list of things that need to be fixed.“We’ve put ourselves in those holes and we can’t continue to live like that,” Taylor said.Cincinnati Bengals:Joe Mixon is starting to hit his stride in the Bengals offenseHe’s right. Especially in the next two games where Cincinnati’s opponents will try and control the clock with their run game more than any other team the Bengals will face this season. If the Bengals get up on the Falcons, it will force Atlanta to have to throw the ball more and that’s not what their offense is made to do.The Falcons rank No. 3 in the NFL in rushing yards per game (165.2) and have eight rushing touchdowns.When you’re playing a team like the Falcons, Cincinnati’s offense needs dictate terms. If the Bengals are trailing at half, it’s going to be hard to overcome a deficit because of the time of possession battle.“You gotta really jump out on teams that like to run the ball,” Burrow said. “Like the Saints last week, they were running the ball well. This week Atlanta is going to run it well and the Browns after that are going to run it really well so you have to jump out fast to kind of stay in the game.Bengals face one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL this weekCincinnati should have success against the Falcons’ pass defense that ranks No. 31 in the NFL. The Falcons don’t have enough talent across to the board in the secondary to keep up with wide receivers Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd and Chase.Burrow threw for 300 yards in the Week 6 win and Chase eclipsed 100 yards. Atlanta gives up an average of 281.2 yards per game through the air. They’ll also be without veteran cornerback Casey Hayward who was placed on injured reserve this week with a shoulder injury. Their top cornerback, A.J. Terrell, injured his hamstring last week and couldn’t finish the game but is expected to try to practice this week.If the Bengals can rattle off a few wins in a row over these next three weeks, they’ll be in good shape at the bye week. On paper, the Bengals should beat their next three opponents: Falcons, Browns and Panthers. Then comes the bye before a brutal second half of their schedule.Cincinnati’s offense is looking for it’s most complete game and there’s no better time for it to happen than during these next three games, starting with Atlanta on Sunday.“Every game feels like a do or die in the NFL,” Burrow said. “But those three games stretch, I think will determine how our season goes.” Source link
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