Yet again, the Cincinnati Bengals begin a season defending an AFC North title and again, they start off with a dud. The saying goes that as the champ, you’ll always get everyone’s best. With how apparent the Bengals Achilles’ Heel is, it wouldn’t matter if a one-win team faced Cincinnati in Week 1, they’d win.
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It was a wet, sloppy, deflating loss in Cleveland for the back-to-back defending division champs. Joe Burrow managed just 82 yards without a touchdown off of 14/31 passing. He missed his marks a number of times and not every bad pass was due to the rain. Joe Mixon had a decent game and likely would have had more of an effect had the Bengals not been behind all game. Ja’Marr Chase made a few plays but nothing close to what Cincinnati expects. The most surprising of all was that Tee Higgins was held off of the stat sheet.
The defense played well enough, overall. They got to Deshaun Watson and ended up with three sacks and tallied six tackles for loss. Dax Hill even hauled in an interception and Germaine Pratt forced a fumble for Chidobe Awuzie to scoop up. While they did get gashed by arguably the best running back in the NFL for 106 yards, they only allowed two touchdowns. Sure, the Browns converted on three field goals but the defense tightened up when it needed to.
This game was the latest in a disturbing trend.
The Bengals Achilles’ Heel in the Zac Taylor Era
Week 1 Woes
Some teams start off on fire and keep up the pace. Other teams falter late. Some teams start off ugly and stay ugly. Other teams improve. Thus far in the Taylor-Burrow era, it seems that the Bengals are the team that starts slow and then figures it out later.
This is the fourth Week 1 game in Burrow’s career. He’s 1-3 and has looked rusty in each loss. Given, that first one should have been a win had it not been for Randy Bullock’s gruesome calves injury. Over the last two years, Burrow has looked rough. 2023 was just as ugly as 2022 just without the turnovers and seven sacks.
Burrow wasn’t the only one struggling against the Browns. The offensive line as a whole could not get much going. In the run game, 34 of Mixon’s 56 yards came on a pair of first-down runs in the second quarter. Outside of that, his offensive line did not help him. In the passing game, the offensive line surrendered a pair of sacks and a ridiculous 10 quarterback hits. The first sack of the day came on the first drive. Myles Garrett lined up as a stood-up linebacker in the a-gap, blew right through causing Burrow to step up, and Ogbo Okoronkwo was there and waiting after bouncing off of Chris Evans‘ block.
Much has been made about the Bengals decision to not play their starters in the preseason. In the short term, perhaps those concerns are warranted. Ted Karras commented after the game that the communication on the offensive line was a weak spot. Perhaps staving off injuries warrants early-season communication and chemistry issues. But in the moment, it sure seems avoidable.
Bengals Bugaboo is the Browns
At this point, it seems like no matter how good the Bengals are or how bad the Browns may be, Cincinnati is going to drop at least one against its in-state rival. To date, the Burrow-led Bengals have faced off against 25 teams. Four teams have beaten Burrow more than once. The Steelers, Ravens, and Chargers have beaten Burrow twice. The Browns? Five times in six meetings.
It helps having one of the best pass rushers in the NFL but it seems like there’s something going on in Cleveland that has them specifically prepared to dispatch the Bengals. They are not only Burrow’s but the Bengals Achilles’ Heel to this point.
The two ugliest losses suffered by the Bengals over the last two seasons have been at the hands of the Browns. They just have the Bengals number. Not even the Browns replacing their defensive coordinator changes fortunes. These two face off again in Week 18. Cincinnati better hope that the Browns aren’t the lone thing standing between them and a division title.
It’s Not the End of the World
Losing to a division rival hurts. Losing in Week 1 hurts. But looking inept on offense when the goal is to finish as the top seed in the AFC hurts the most.
Cincinnati starts the year 0-1 yet again. Last year, they started off 0-2 and dropped each of their first three AFC North battles.
There is no denying that this loss hurts the Bengals ability to control the division and secure home-field advantage in the playoffs. However, it is just one game. As long as the Bengals Achilles’ Heel is rectified and the team doesn’t come out flat in Week 2, there is plenty of reason for hope.
The NFL is a grueling marathon. 17 games on the schedule, 17 opportunities for greatness. Cincinnati hosts the Ravens next week and it will be a great opportunity to get back on track. Starting off 1-1 overall and in the AFC North will put the Bengals in a better position to secure that elusive threepeat.
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