The Bengals Are All The Way Back
The Bengals are officially back. Did they face a team that everyone thought they were going to get the first pick this year in the Cardinals? Absolutely, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it gave Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow the opportunity to start really connecting and getting back into the swing of things. Sure, the Bengals are 2-3 and it might be a little premature to say they are back already, but I am saying it anyway (for the second time). It is known that this team takes a while to start up and get back to great. It also took awhile for Joe Burrow to start playing like Joe Burrow again after the calf injury. But I think it is finally safe to say that they are all the way back.
Burrow is still playing a bit sloppy for how he usually plays, but he is definitely close to 100%. He is starting to slowly move around in the pocket again, maybe roll out here and there if he needs to, and really just get that pep in his step that we all expected him to have this year. I mean by no means was this kid ever a mobile QB, but he was definitely able to move around a lot more last year when he was not hurt. I almost miss healthy Joe Burrow in the way he would be able to navigate the pocket and sort of just make defenders look like fools. I know he will be back to normal soon though, especially after this last game. You can just tell by the play calling and how he was actually throwing the ball down the field that he is close to normal. For once you even saw him targeting Ja’Marr Chase. Isn’t that crazy? A star QB targeting his star receiver that he has played with since college? How could the Bengals and Joe Burrow not think about this before! Obviously, Chase just balled out last game. The dude was catching everything and even setting franchise records. I mean the dude is an absolute beast and it is a shame that it took the Bengals this long to realize they have an absolute start studded receiving core. I expect this team to turn it around for the rest of the season and obviously get on a hot streak to close out the season and make a run in the playoffs.
The only problem I have been seeing with this team is that their defense has been getting worse and worse over the past couple of years. I know this should start being expected since they are going to have to pay everyone on offense and you can expect the defense to take a hit off that, but I did not expect the defense to be this bad. I mean the only team that they have held to less than 20 points this season is the Rams and they did not have Kupp. I just think that if this team really wants a chance to win the Super Bowl their defense is going to have to step up in a big way, cause frankly how they have been playing is just flat out unacceptable. I just said they are going to make a run in the playoffs and regardless of their defense I think that will be true just based on how good their offense is, but if they want a chance to win a Super Bowl it is in their defense’s hands.