Bengals offensive line
Bengals offensive line
The Bengals’ offensive line has struggled against Cincinnati’s improved defensive front. Turns out, it may not just be the defense. After two preseason games, the starting offensive line is looking like a problem in general. Not just because they are facing Dexter Lawrence in practice, but because they need to improve.
In Week 1 against the Lions, for example, the Bengals’ offensive line allowed pressure on 15 of 40 dropbacks. That included six pressures with Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco under center with a combined 15 dropbacks between them. Things slightly improved last week, allowing 11 pressures on 40 dropbacks, but we also didn’t see the starters play, so that doesn’t help the assessment for what Burrow will be seeing on Sundays.
Burrow played two drives with the Steelers’ starting offense in Week 1, as did the offensive line. The first drive quickly stalled as the result of a sack, and the second drive ended with Burrow taking a hit as he attempted a pass on third down that fell incomplete. They settled for a 56-yard field goal in the latter case. It should be noted that the running back shares blame on the sack, the Lions bringing blitzers.
https://x.com/Lions/status/2088042067536621732
Interestingly enough, the Bengals don’t have any changes on the offensive line from last year. They signed LT Orlando Brown Jr. and RG Dalton Risner to extensions. The rest of the starting unit consists of veteran C Ted Karras, 2025 third-round LG Dylan Fairchild, and former first-round RT Amarius Mims.
Of the group, Mims has arguably performed the best so far this preseason, but the unit as a whole raises some concerns. Brown, now on the wrong side of 30, is showing signs of his age. Never an elite athlete—or even an average one—his play is raising concerns. Just one barometer would be Pro Football Focus, which gave him sub-60 grades for both run-blocking and pass-blocking. Mims is the only one on the Bengals’ starting offensive line to earn a positive pass-blocking grade. Everybody else graded even worse than Brown a run-blockers.
On the whole, the unit did better in pass protection than in run blocking, though that is not an uncommon issue during the preseason. The Bengals’ offensive line, however, should be ahead of other groups that have seen changes. This is the first time in Joe Burrow’s career that he has gone into a season with the same starting five as the previous season.
And HC Zac Taylor doesn’t intend to play the starters in the final preseason game, so the next time we’ll be able to evaluate how the line holds up against Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey, Yaya Diaby, Rueben Bain Jr., and the Buccaneers’ defensive front on September 13. If the Bengals’ offensive line can’t hold up to their own defensive front in practice, how will they handle that group?