Cincinnati Bengals
Record: 9-8-0 (3rd in AFC North)
Head Coach: Zac Taylor (6th Season)
Who’s Playing Wide Receiver?
The Bengals entered the 2024 preseason with multiple questions, most notably, the wide receiver room. Tyler Boyd left the Bengals after 7 seasons, following offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to Tennessee. One wide receiver down. After Tee Higgins was given the franchise tag, Higgins requested a trade out of Cincinnati, looking for a long term contract. Two receivers down.
Then, there was Ja’Marr Chase. The Bengals picked up the 2021 first round pick’s 5th year option, locking Chase in to play two more years without a contract extension. Chase decided to “hold-in,” attending preseason practices without participating in drills. For a moment, it looked like the Bengals would enter the season without any of their top three receivers from 2023. However, Tee Higgins and Chase returned to the field and were full goes for week one against New England.
The Rollercoaster Bengals
With Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins, the Bengals were heavy favorites to beat the New England Patriots in week 1. Did they win? No. In fact, this was the beginning of a three-game losing streak to start the season, with losses to New England, Kansas City, and Washington. While the New England loss was chalked up to rust, the losses to Kansas City and Washington were different. Despite outgaining both opponents, Cincinnati lost both games.
In the Kansas City game, a costly defensive pass interference call put Kansas City into field goal range, and Harrison Butker sank a 51-yard field goal to send the Bengals to 0-2. In the Washington game, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels balled out, and Cincinnati couldn’t keep up.
As the season continued, Burrow and Chase kept Cincinnati in games, but the Bengals still failed to win games. Entering their week 12 bye, Cincinnati sat just 4-7. However, they still held a path to the playoffs.
The Bengals Ball Out
The Cincinnati Bengals should not have finished the season 9-8. Quarterback Joe Burrow put up 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns, both the most out of quarterbacks in 2024, as well as career highs for the number one overall pick.
The career highs for Burrow also led to a massive season for his number one wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase. Chase became just the fifth wide receiver since the merger to earn the triple crown award, leading the NFL in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. It was these two season-long performances that saw Cincinnati stay afloat.
Five straight wins to end the season took the Bengals from 4-8 to 9-8, but the hot streak was not enough, as the Bengals missed out on the postseason thanks to a Denver Broncos win in Week 18.
To the Offseason
After the 2nd consecutive season without playoffs, the Bengals are entering a crucial offseason. With Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase both entering free agency, Cincinnati needs to decide on their next move. Based on the prior experiences, the Bengals typically aren’t a team that pays big money to players. With Chase likely to receive one of the largest non-QB contracts in NFL history, it seems unlikely that Cincinnati will keep both wide receivers.
Naturally, Chase is the name the Bengals will want to keep. The connection with Joe Burrow dating back to their days at LSU and his skill level make him a clear choice. However, nothing is certain.
Alongside the Wide Receiver issue is the ongoing issue of the Bengals failing to protect Joe Burrow. While the Bengals actually allowed less sacks this season (50 in 2023 vs 48 in 2024), the moves to rebuild the offensive line have been failures. One of the worst ranked pass blocking units in the league, Cincinnati’s guards Alex Cappa and Cordell Volson were disastrous in 202 with 14 sacks allowed, while posting pass block grades below league average (PFF).
While rookie tackle Amarius Mims looks promising, his lack of reps at the college level certainly showed in 2024, as he allowed 33 pressures in 15 games, while committing four penalties. Should the Bengals go back to the draft, there’s some talent that could fall, but at pick 17, Cincinnati could be a team that is destined to trade back and find more picks in the late first to early second rounds.
Just two years after making the commitment to quarterback Joe Burrow, 2025 could be a major turning point for the Bengals franchise. Should Cincinnati fail to resign any of Burrow’s receivers, give him an offensive line, or make any sort of moves in the offseason, the beginning of the end of the Burrow Era could be upon us.
