Column: Cincinnati Bengals Must Rebound After Ugly Week 1 Debut

The Bengals only scored 10 points against the Patriots in Week 1.

Sep 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor after the game against the New England Patriots at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

If you're like me yove spent most of the week perplexed by the product on the field on Sunday.

I mean, honestly, what was that Cincinnati?

The oddsmakers predicted that the New England Patriots would win four games this season, but no one could have predicted them marching into Paycor Stadium and imposing their will against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Cincinnati's offensive line has taken some criticism over the last few years, particularly for not protecting Joe Burrow as well as they should. They were thoroughly manhandled by the Patriot defensive front who played a much more physical brand of football.

This set the tone for the rest of the game, to some degree. For starters, Cincinnati could not run the football effectively which put them in more 3rd-and-long situations than they would have liked.

I believe their inability to run the football effectively paired with New England's ability to be more physical with them up front, led to issues in the passing attack. Joe Burrow started ”seeing” the rush which prohibited him from seeing the whole field. As a result, he missed some throws he's made in the past.

Zac Taylor's play calling didn’t help the offense much. They were mostly in the “gun,” which made their offense far more predictable. The running game was inept on a day where Joe Mixon ran for 159 yards for the Houston Texans.

Someone remind Mr. Brown that “scared money doesn’t make any.” If the offensive struggles in this game are a microcosm of what to expect this season, starting the game with three consecutive 3-and-outs is a recipe for disaster. They ended the game with 10 points. So much for starting the season fast.

This week, they’ll certainly have their hands full when they play the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Tee Higgins is still nursing a hamstring injury. This opens the door for Jermaine Burton to show the skill set that have many people excited to see how he fits into this offense.

Both Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase have talked about him “getting in his playbook,” which leads me to believe that his four snaps in Week 1 have more to do with his familiarity with the offense rather than his talent. Lou Anarumos defense will have their hands full this week against the ultimate chess master/play caller Andy Reid. The defensive MVP Trey Hendrickson played hard as usual, racking up 6 pressures in Week 1. Sheldon Rankins was just average in his debut.

One of the most egregious aspects of last weeks game was Cincinnati’s in ability to make tackles and ultimately get off the field on third down. Tackling is attitude more about attitude than anything else.

This is yet another feat you can point directly to the coaching staff for not having the team ready to play. If they're not ready this week, they will have their doors blown off. The Bengals are in danger of falling to 1-11 in the first two weeks of the season during Taylor's tenure as the head coach.

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