The Cincinnati Bengals coughed up 400-plus yards and the offense managed just 10 points in the first outing without Joe Burrow this season during a 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Depsite a little extra time than usual to prep for the game after playing a Thursday game the week prior, the Bengals fell flat and didn’t look ready for the challenges presented by losing Joe Burrow.
In the aftermath of the loss, the spotlight is now on whether the coaching still will be able to properly adapt and fix some of the major issues on either side of the ball over the remaining handful of games.
Here’s a look at the biggest takeaways from the loss.
Defensive issues
This was the underlying problem all season and it showed up again on Sunday in the form of explosive plays and rough run defense. Even if Joe Burrow hadn’t been lost, it was going to be hard to overcome a defense that looks like it lost too much talent this past offseason, particularly in the secondary. Coughing up 400-plus yards to a miserable Steelers offense is about as rough as it gets — and the overreliance on turnovers isn’t cutting it.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that…
...it's developmental time
…the young guys should keep getting run. First-rounder Myles Murphy had a sack in the second half and should keep seeing an uptick in time moving forward. Rookies Jordan Battle and DJ Turner continue to see huge snap counts. Sunday’s rocky ride against a team that just fired its offensive coordinator is just the type of rollercoaster a team has to endure while thinking about the future.
Offensive rollercoaster
The same logic applies to the offense, in terms of the ups and downs. While the unit still has star players like Ja’Marr Chase that will turn nothing into something, even a few positive Browning spurts usually ended in mistakes or misfires. That’s just how it’s going to be for the remainder of the season.
Mistakes that go back to the offseason
All of the above? Much of it can be explained by pointing to last offseason. While it’s not entirely fair to say the Bengals should’ve paid up big to keep Jessie Bates, losing both starting safties has been a massive detriment. Ignoring the problem that is pass-rushing depth has been a problem. Failing to properly replace Samaje Perine and Brandon Allen and an especially big failure to take backup quarterback seriously has put the team in a hole and really did so before Burrow’s season-ending injury.
Bleak outlook
The Bengals aren’t going to win many more games this year if something big doesn’t change. That means the coaches figuring out how to better scheme around Browning’s limitations and the defense suddenly getting it together. This speaks to just how bad the Steelers are this season despite the 6-4 record, because the rest of the schedule for the Bengals is brutal.
