Cincinnati Bengals Takeaways: Joe Burrow's Calf, Positive Developments on Offense and the Trenches

Cincinnati fell to 0-2 on Sunday after losing to Baltimore 27-24.

Mike Santagata | Sep 18, 2023

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Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are in a spot that has become all too familiar for them as they lost their home opener to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday to fall to 0-2 on the season.

It was a disappointing loss to a team that they will be competing with for the division crown. Here are my top takeaways from the game:

Another Slow Start

Joe Burrow, ted Karras, Cordell Volson, Orlando Brown Jr. — © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last year, the Bengals started 0-2 and were able to dig themselves out of that hole to win the division and go on to the AFC Championship Game. However, it's not a place that you want to be as an NFL team. Since 1990, only 11.5% of teams that start 0-2 make the playoffs. Furthermore, only three of those teams have gone on to win the Super Bowl. The goals and aspirations of this Bengals team are still very much alive, but they make everything hard on themselves. They will have to be an outlier to make another Super Bowl run, but they are also a team that has done it before.

Early Down Offense

One of the clear differences in this game was the early down offense of the Baltimore Ravens and the early down offense of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens generated 0.11 EPA per play on early downs (73rd Percentile) with a success rate of 53% (89th Percentile), while the Bengals generated -0.21 EPA per play (12th Percentile) with a success rate of 41% (40th percentile).

That difference let Baltimore play almost exclusively in 3rd-and-manageable. On the three plays that Baltimore had a 3rd and 5 or more, they went 1-for-5. Despite that, the Ravens converted nine out of their 14 total third downs. They went 8-for-9 on 3rd-and-4 or less. Oddly enough, the Bengals offense also went 1-5 on 3rd and 5+ and finished 10-15 total on third down. The Ravens early down offense picked up 16 first downs while the Bengals offense only picked up seven first downs. The early down offense needs to be efficient going forward so that the team can stay on schedule. It's very hard to live in 3rd-and-long.

The Defensive Line Loses

Bengals Defensive Line, Lamar Jackson — © Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the biggest stories heading into this game was the Ravens banged up offensive line against the Bengals fairly healthy defensive line. The Ravens were down two of their best offensive linemen in Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum.

This set up the Bengals to possibly take control of the game up front. That did not happen in this game. Baltimore dominated them on the ground for 178 yards at nearly 5 yards per carry, while Lamar Jackson wasn't sacked and rarely pressured.

Pro Football Reference listed only one quarterback hit for the Bengals in this game and that came from Sam Hubbard against one of the starting offensive linemen. The only splash plays this defensive line made in the game were a pair of holding calls that DJ Reader was able to draw. Just an abhorrent performance from the Bengals defensive line in a matchup that favored them on paper.

The Offensive Line Is Okay

One of the few bright spots from this game was the Bengals offensive line. They only gave up one sack and five quarterback hits. They also averaged 4.5 yards per carry on the ground with Joe Mixon. It appears that last week's disastrous performance had more to do with facing an elite defensive line and the weather than it did this offensive line's abilities. The Ravens front is not bad by any means and a decent test for an offensive line. They're a quality group that just lacks some of the high end talent that other teams have.

The Offense Comes Alive

Tee Higgins touchdown Ravens — USA Today Images

While most of the first half was a struggle, the offense was able to find life in the last drive of the half. They put together a 13 play field goal drive going 66 yards. Even though it ended in a field goal it looked like the Bengals of last year. They would then go on to average 53.25 yards per drive in the second half with a pair of touchdowns. The team was able to move the ball at will after their first two possessions. It was too late for them to save this game, but it was encouraging to see them put it together.

Joe Burrow's Health

The last part of this game worth mentioning is Joe Burrow's calf. He aggravated the injury at the end of this game. It's very likely that this calf is going to be something that the Bengals have to deal with moving forward. They started 0-2 and aren't in a spot to rest him if he's able to play.

At the same time, he's the franchise quarterback and a long term issue from this calf strain would be an even worse outcome. They're in a tough spot with the Rams coming to town on Monday night. There are winnable games over the next few weeks that can help them get back on track, but they will need Burrow to play to have a realistic chance of rallying from the 0-2 hole they're facing.

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