Eight months ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were atop the AFC gearing up to face the eventual Super Bowl Champion, Kansas City Chiefs. Fast forward to today, Who-Dey Nation is already panicking over whether or not their team is even playoff caliber. After extending Joe Burrow this offseason, expectations were sky-high for Cincinnati. The league had other ideas however, and after disappointing losses to division rivals Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals sit at just 1-2 on the bottom of the AFC North to start the year. To add insult to injury, reports say that Burrow reaggravated his calf injury from early on in the preseason. Now that Burrow may be sidelined for a while, it’s no surprise that the Bengal faithful may be concerned for their team’s future. Can Cincy rebound from their rocky start, or is it time to throw in the towel?
The Bengals’ upcoming schedule consists of two beatable teams, the Cardinals and the Seahawks. Coming off a poor showing against the lackluster Tennessee Titans where the Bengals lost 27-3, the ball is in their court for what they want to accomplish. Although the Cards looked good in week 3 outlasting the Cowboys 28-16, the team as a whole is underwhelming and the Bengals at full strength should have no trouble handling them. The Seahawks have looked promising this year as they’re off to a 3-1 start after a big Monday night win against the Giants. Despite the Hawks’ early success, however, the Bengals at full force should have no trouble contending and even beating this Seattle team. These next few games are big for Cincy to get their legs back under them as they try and save what has been a season to forget thus far.
The Bengals situation would be a lot less chaotic if there wasn’t so much uncertainty regarding the health of franchise quarterback Joe Burrow. After inking him to a record-breaking five-year extension worth $275 million, Cincinnati was being mentioned as a top 3 team in the National Football League.
Burrows’s calf injury is thought to be partly to blame for his underwhelming performance so far in 2023, and Burrow spoke on this after the game Monday saying to NBC, “There is risk to go out there and potentially reinjure it… But there’s also the risk to not go out there and be 0-3. So I wanted to be out there for my guys, and I was confident that I would be able to do what I needed to get the win.”
As the season opener approached, expectations were through the roof for Cincy’s offense as a whole. After having the #1 ranked wide receiver corps in the NFL by ProFootballFocus (PFF) last season and the 6th overall ranked offense after the draft this year, it comes to no surprise that people had the Bengals poised for greatness this year. The loss of Joe Burrow could be detrimental to the Bengals playoff hopes, and if he remains out for an extended period of time we could see the Bengals tapping out before the midway point this season.
All hope isn’t lost just yet in Cincinnati. Even though it isn’t the start the Bengals have hoped for, they do have a win under their belt, unlike a couple of teams thus far. Monday night’s game showed flashes of what this team can be when everyone’s healthy and especially showcased the team’s defense in a shutdown performance. Joe Burrow did enough to get the Bengals downfield in a 26/49, 259-yard performance. Wide receiver Jamaar Chase looked electric posting a 12 catch, 141-yard stat line. Despite Burrow’s pick in the waning moments of the 3rd quarter, the defense stepped up and got the job done. The Bengals have a lot of positives to take away from this game, but the main question remains in Joe Burrow’s health. Burrow’s presence on the field is always felt despite his stats and his commitment as a leader outshined his poor play in the victory, so now the Bengals need to focus on keeping him out there so they can keep the streak going.
It’s to be seen whether the Bengals can ride the wave of their first win into these next two weeks, with a chance to get from 0-2 to 3-2 both games are crucial for the team. Joe Burrow’s health status remains up in the air as even though he’s playing he doesn’t look like his MVP-candidate self.
The Bengals need to start winning fast for their playoff hopes to stay alive because if they don’t get it together soon, Cincy may be watching from the couch come January.
