Bengals QB Joe Burrow ( (Photo by Ian Johnson\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/span><\/small><\/div>\nThe Cincinnati Bengals offense wasn’t supposed to operate like this in 2022. The defending AFC champions are loaded with skill players and employ a quarterback in Joe Burrow who was supposed to<\/i> to be an MVP candidate this season.<\/p>\n
Cincinnati also rebuilt its much-maligned offensive line in the offseason, drafting Cordell Volson and signing Ted Karras, Alex Cappa and La’el Collins.<\/p>\n
Offense was expected to be the Bengals’ team strength, but it’s been far from the explosive juggernaut most expected. Cincinnati came into Thursday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins ranked just 20th in total yards. <\/p>\n
The good news is that Cincinnati has won back-to-back games to get .500. The Bengals have scored 27 points in back-to-back games, and Burrow has cut down on the mistakes that plagued him during an 0-2 start.<\/p>\n
The bad news is that the Bengals offense still has issues that could keep Cincinnati from being a legitimate title contender.<\/p>\n
Numbers Can Be Deceiving <\/b><\/p>\n
Let’s not sugarcoat it. Burrow was a borderline disaster over the first two weeks of the season. He had five turnovers in the opener, held the ball too long, too often against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2 and was sacked 13 times over the first two weeks.<\/p>\n
The Bengals lost their first two games by a combined six points, and it’s hard to argue that Cincinnati might now be 4-0 with a little smarter play from the quarterback. We’ve seen that over the past two games, as Burrow has been turnover-free and has only taken three sacks.<\/p>\n
Looking solely at the stat sheet, one could be forgiven for believing that Cincinnati’s offensive issues have been solved. Burrow passed for 275 yards and three touchdowns against the New York Jets in Week 3. He threw for 287 and two scores against the Dolphins. Cincinnati amassed 371 yards of total offense and converted eight of 15 third-down attempts.<\/p>\n
Yet the Bengals should still be uncomfortable with where they are offensively. They were unable to get superstar receiver Ja’Marr Chase heavily involved until late in the game, and their ground game continues to be a major disappointment.<\/p>\n
Starting running back Joe Mixon came into Thursday averaging a paltry 2.8 yards per carry. He averaged just 2.5 yards per rush against the Dolphins.<\/p>\n
While Burrow’s final numbers look good, he was inconsistent throughout the game. His first big play came against a terrible coverage decision by Miami\u2014with no safety help over the top of wideout Tee Higgins.<\/p>\n
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