With a loss at the Kansas City Chiefs paired with a Pittsburgh Steelers win, the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals playoff hopes have officially ended.
This year was anything but routine for the Bengals. First, they had to deal with a hobbled Joe Burrow from a freak calf injury in Training Camp. Then, even if he said he was okay to play, Cincinnati was historically slow out of the gate…again. Injuries plagued the team down the stretch as Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury, D.J. Reader went down, and both star receivers ended up on the injury report.
With only one game left against the Cleveland Browns, the Bengals have an opportunity to go into the offseason on a high note, rather than on a three-game skid.
No Cincinnati Bengals Playoffs Magic This Year…Now What?
Youth Movement
Neither the Bengals nor Browns have anything to play for in Week 18, realistically. The only goal Cincinnati could be aiming for with a win would be to end up with a winning record. Well, aside from trying to not finish the year 0-6 in the AFC North for the first time since 2002.
It’s well-known that the likes of Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are battling injuries. Some of the veteran players on defense like Chidobe Awuzie have seemingly lost a step. For some, like these, the offseason should start a week early.
Obviously, these players are not going to quit on their team. Both receivers were quoted after the loss talking about wanting to play because of how much the game meant to the team and locker room. It’s commendable that they would want to power through an injury for their teammates and both deserve the pay day that is in their respective futures. However, there are some guns who need some run.
In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Bengals selected a pair of receivers, Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas. They were superficially assumed to be the successors of Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Obviously, Iosivas is not Higgins, but he’s flashed in games late in the year. After only giving him 20 snaps against the Chiefs, it’s time to give him a full game’s worth to see what they’re working with in the offseason.
Likewise, Jones needs more snaps. Why use a fourth-round pick on a receiver if you’re going to trot out Trenton Irwin for half of the game’s plays? On the year (10 games), Jones has only garnered six targets for four catches and 15 yards. He has shown that he’s a legitimate returner, of course, returning a punt for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens in round one.
The rookie from Purdue is a playmaker and has not had many chances this year. The Bengals would do well to treat Week 18 against the Browns as a pre-offseason pre-season game, so to speak.
Difficult Conversations
The NFL is a business. The goal is to win, plain and simple. With the offseason looming, the Bengals have a handful of impending free agents and cap casualties.
The first step would be to do whatever possible to upgrade anything and everything offensive line. From the scouts to the coaches to the players, the Bengals need to improve. Yes, the horse has been beaten to death, revived, beaten again, buried, and beaten further but it’s true.
Prior to the 2022 season, they went out and got La’el Collins, Ted Karras, and Alex Cappa. Two out of three are not bad. Collins doesn’t have a job despite coming in as “Joe Burrow’s new bodyguard.” Prior to last year, they brought in Orlando Brown, Jr. who has played well, overall. This seemingly caused a rift between the front office and Jonah Williams which was remedied (potentially?).
Upgrading from Jim Turner was a must and the Bengals, to their credit, went out and got an old friend and successful coach in Frank Pollack. While the offensive line woes may not be solely on Pollack, he’s part of the equation. The fact remains that the Bengals are to drafting offensive linemen what the New England Patriots are to drafting receivers. Somewhere down the line, there is a massive deficit in scouting college talent and development.
Since drafting Kevin Zeitler in 2012, the Bengals have hit on just one offensive line pick in the draft (Williams, 2019). Cincinnati did not draft another offensive lineman that year, so from 2013 through 2023, they drafted a total of 17. Five of those picks were in the first three rounds: Cedric Ogbuehi (first round, 2015), Jake Fisher (second round, 2015), Billy Price (first round, 2018), Jonah Williams (first round 2019), and Jackson Carman (second round, 2021).
Just trashing Pollack and/or the current lineup is not comprehensive. The Bengals have a massive blind spot when it comes to the offensive line. This offseason, they need to identify who the issue is, whether it’s one person or many, and fix it.
Protect Joe Burrow.
Fire Up the Mock Drafts
There have been silver linings for the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals season. Trey Hendrickson had yet another career year and is heading into Week 18 tied with T.J. Watt (a probable First-Team All-Pro) with 17 sacks on the year, most in the NFL.
Jake Browning kept the season afloat despite the Burrow injury. The Bengals faced four teams still vying for the playoffs and Browning went 3-3. There are other teams whose seasons have completely tanked after losing their starting quarterback. The Bengals were in the conversation for significantly more time than most anticipated. when Burrow went down, plenty just suggested they shut it down and tank for a top-10 pick. Instead, Browning fought and made a seemingly lost season interesting. He’s an exclusive rights free agent next year. If another team wants his services, they’ll have to trade for him.
The rookies took a step this year. Chase Brown was explosive in his limited reps. Myles Murphy has started to look like an NFL edge rusher. D.J. Turner and Jordan Battle have had their ups and downs but have flashed, providing plenty of optimism for the future.
There are a lot of questions after the Bengals playoff hopes were dashed. The biggest question? Will Joe Burrow finally have a semi-normal Training Camp?
This year was disappointing in Cincinnati. If the Bengals are not proactive in the offseason, the Super Bowl window may be shrinking before our eyes.
Main Image: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
