CINCINNATI (WXIX) - If you boil down the play-by-play of the Cincinnati Bengals’ Week 1 and Week 2 losses between 2022 and 2024, they essentially all come down to missed opportunities from Joe Burrow, plays where he got fooled or plays where the offense didn’t have the right answer in a big spot.
See the picks against the Steelers in 2022, the offense getting stumped in the final series against the Cowboys in 2022 and in the final series versus the Patriots in 2024 and the entire Browns game in the rain in 2023.
“We’ve certainly had some (losses) that are hard to believe,” Burrow said.
You can place the Bengals’ slow start problems over the last few years on Burrow, his injuries (appendix, calf, wrist) and the reps that Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and the entire offense didn’t get together during the summer for various reasons.
The defense hasn’t played great in those Week 1 and Week 2 games, but it’s played about to its overall level.
Effectively, Burrow and the Bengals’ passing game have been the things starting the season slow.
Entering 2025, Burrow feels incredibly confident. It’s not just because he’s spinning the ball much better than he was a year ago. It’s because the Bengals’ offense has an incredible amount of continuity and because this group just had seven full weeks together of uninterrupted work.
“Every single training camp you’re going to have some days that don’t look the way you want it to look, but it’s helpful when you get those things out of the way in late July and early August,” Dan Pitcher said. “You’re steadily able to build to a place where you know you need to perform at a high level when it counts. We had a chance to do that this year more so than we have in any other years.”
Burrow and the offense open 2025 as close to midseason form as they can be. This summer, there was no big training camp injury and no hold-in on offense. There were lots and lots of reps.
“We haven’t played a real game yet, but we feel like we’ve got a lot of reps invested,” Zac Taylor said. “There’s been times in years past obviously we haven’t had that until the Monday of this first game week. I’m just excited about the chemistry as much as anything else that we’ve established up to this point.”
The Bengals’ offense has a very strong foundation. The only quarterbacks in the NFL who have had the same play caller for their entire careers and have at least 10,000 career passing yards are Burrow and Patrick Mahomes.
Unlike Mahomes, whose cast of receivers seems to change every year, Burrow has been playing with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins for nearly his entire NFL career.
This is also Year 3 for Chase Brown, Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones and Year 2 for Mike Gesicki.
“One of the simplest things is just a Year 2 of Mike Gesicki,” Taylor said. “You go into last season you are not totally sure how we are going to utilize him, how he’s going to fit. Now a guy like that, as an example, you know exactly how to utilize him and get the most out of him.”
Drew Sample has been on the Bengals for longer than Burrow, and Samaje Perine is back after two “gap years.” The only new faces in the skill position group are third-string tight end Noah Fant, reserve receiver Mitchell Tinsley and third-string running back Tahj Brooks.
Taylor, Pitcher, quarterbacks coach Brad Kragthorpe and tight ends coach James Casey have been on the coaching staff for Burrow’s entire career. Wide receivers coach Troy Walters and running backs coach Justin Hill have been on the staff since 2021.
Pitcher said that the level of continuity within the Bengals’ offense makes the adjustment process much easier for them.
“(There are) tweaks we are able to make, and the ability to do that without the fear of overloading the guys or having certain guys not understand what we’re trying to get done,” Pitcher said. “(There’s) the ability to adjust and really access the entire offense that’s what Joe is going to do. It’s a rising tides are going to raise all boats kind of a thing. You have to be at (Burrow’s) level because that’s how he is going to operate, and we are not slowing him down. The guys understand that, and so I think we’re in a good spot.”
Walters said that the biggest advantage of having everyone in place for a complete and normal training camp allowed him to move receivers around more during the summer. Everyone, including Higgins, lined up a bunch in the slot.
Using Chase in the slot more often was the key that unlocked another gear in the Bengals’ offense in 2024. The offense in 2025 should be even more versatile.
“Everyone knows what they’re doing, and anyone can go in any position,” Iosivas said. “We know the offense, and it shows up with the chemistry on broken plays. Everyone can play everywhere. We like receivers that can win at any position. We have Mike (Gesicki). We have Chase (Brown). You can line Chase up outside and he can run any route.”
Back in 2023, roles were very defined in the Bengals’ offense. Tyler Boyd was the slot receiver. Joe Mixon was the bellcow back. Irv Smith Jr. was the starting tight end (that one didn’t work well). There wasn’t much skill position player depth, and there weren’t many opportunities to move players around between different positions.
The 2025 Bengals present Burrow more schematic options than he has ever had before. The skill position depth is the best that it has been during his career. There are different packages that feature all sorts of different combinations of players. Because of the unique collection of tight ends that the Bengals have, they can take on the identity of a team that spreads the field with empty formations or a team that pounds the rock with two old school blocking tight ends.
A complete training camp gave everyone the necessary time to refine, fine tune and tinker.
“We’ve mastered what we do,” Gesicki said. “There’s a lot of feel and reactiveness to the way that we play. The coaches do a good job of making it easy for everyone to learn and understand. It’s a credit to the coaching staff for how they put the plan together. We have smart players. It’s sophisticated. There are nuances.”
Burrow is better set up to have success in Week 1 this season than he has been in any other year of his career. The only cause for concern with this offense will be the guard play, especially because Lucas Patrick missed time in training camp with two injuries. But also, it’s going to be hard for the Bengals to get worse guard play than they did last season. Even if Burrow has to get rid of the ball instantly after the snap, he has experience making the necessary in-game adjustments for that scenario with this coaching staff and these receivers.
A lot of Burrow’s confidence entering Week 1 stems from how much he has seen, both in previous seasons and in training camp this year, with the guys he’s about to take the field with.
“I feel like I’ve seen just about every look that you can get with all of our different plays,” Burrow said. “Anytime you’re in the same system for that many years, you know all the ins and outs, the weaknesses of each play and the plays you can get to to attack whatever you are seeing. I feel like I’ve just seen a lot of different things in a lot of different situations and can adapt accordingly.”
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