Our 2022 NFL Preview heads from the city of wind to one fit for a queen, where the Bengals look to follow up their surprise run to Super Bowl LVI by delivering the franchise its first-ever Lombardi Trophy. After spending five years mired in mediocrity, Cincinnati reaped the rewards of their drafting and development, as a slew of talents emerged at the same time, including (former No. One Overall Pick) Joe Burrow and (Offensive Rookie of the Year) Ja’Marr Chase among others. So, after getting a taste of postseason success and spending the offseason addressing their weaknesses, will Cincy cement themselves as annual Super Bowl contenders, or will last season’s magic prove to be lightning in a bottle?
Joe COOL
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again and again: today’s NFL is a Quarterback-driven league. If you have a good one, you can win games, but if you have a great one, then the sky is the limit. And thus, we find the Bengals enjoying life with Joe Burrow, who returned from a serious knee injury that curtailed his rookie campaign, to establish himself as one of the best at his position. Indeed, this is what the faithful in Cincinnati hoped for when they drafted the 2019 Heisman and National Champion with the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, as he took a MAJOR leap from his first season to the next. Let’s just look at the numbers, shall we? As a rookie, Burrow completed 65.3% of his passes for an average of 268.8 yards on a meager 5.64 net yards per attempt, with thirteen touchdowns in comparison to five interceptions and a QBR of 48.5 in ten starts, posting a 2-7-1 record along the way. A year later, he exhibited exponential growth across the board in completing an NFL-best 70.4% of his passes for 288.2 yards per game on a much-improved 7.43 net yards per attempt, with thirty-four touchdowns opposed to fourteen interceptions and a QBR of 54.3, leading to a 10-6 record as starter and the franchise’s first division title since 2015. The question now becomes this: how much higher can the Ohio native rise? Well, as stellar as he was in 2021, there is still plenty of room for improvement for the 25-year-old, who at times can be reckless with the football (16 turnovers), while also holding onto it a bit longer than he should, which played a role in the league-high FIFTY-ONE sacks (including another NINETEEN in the playoffs) he sustained. Granted, a lot of that also comes down to his protection or lack thereof (much more on the Offensive Line in a bit) but finding more consistency rather than hunting for big plays moving forward would make a sizable difference. Even with all those sacks, Burrow and the Bengals led the NFL in yards per pass attempt (8.9), while finishing third in net yards per attempt (7.2), and seventh in passing yards (282.7), and not to mention compiled a staggering TWENTY touchdowns of 20+ yards. However, drives often stalled with a 39.6% third down conversion rate and a 59.6% red zone percentage, both of which ranked sixteenth overall. Efficiency is the next step for Burrow and the Bengals, for a feast or famine approach likely won’t lead to a Lombardi.
An Embarrassment of Riches
Credit to (General Manager) Duke Tobin and (Head Coach) Zac Taylor for the work they’ve done identifying and developing the talent on hand, for the Bengals have become the envy of the league in many regards, as a small market team that has gone about rebuilding the old-fashioned way and are now flush with talent. Apart from the aforementioned Burrow, the Offense as a whole is littered with playmakers, featuring (Pro-Bowl Tailback) Joe Mixon, who racked up a career-high 1,205 yards and thirteen touchdowns, and not to mention forty-two catches for 314 yards and another three scores, while (Receivers) Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd combined for 141 receptions, 1,919 yards, and eleven touchdowns. With that said, the addition of Ja’Marr Chase (pictured) was easily the most impactful of the group, for reuniting the explosive Wideout with his college Quarterback was nothing short of a stroke of genius on Tobin’s behalf. Chase erupted for eighty-one catches, 1,455 yards, and thirteen touchdowns, many of which traveled a considerable distance, as eight of them consisted of thirty or more yards. The 22-year-old averaged a robust 18.0 yards per catch, while also breaking the NFL rookie records for most receiving yards in a single game (266 vs Kansas City), most receiving yards in a single postseason (368), and most receiving yards in a combined regular season and postseason (1,823). Furthermore, he also set franchise records for receiving yards in a single game and a single season. Granted, this group lost (Tight End) C.J. Uzomah in Free Agency and will be looking to replace his production (49 REC, 493 YDS, 5 TD) with (Former First Round Pick) Hayden Hurst, who spent the last two seasons in Atlanta. Taylor & Co are also expecting (Undrafted Free Agent) Kwamie Lassiter to make an impact, after the Kansas product turned heads during offseason workouts, and appears to be in the running to bolster the Receiving Corps.
Purchasing Protection
In the end, the Bengals’ fatal flaw was their most glaring weakness, for their Offensive Line simply couldn’t keep the heat off their Quarterback long enough to make a play when they needed it most. In two seasons, Burrow has been sacked an insane EIGHTY-THREE times (8.2%!!!), and not to mention hurried seventy-six times, and hit on ninety-five occasions, one of which resulted in the torn ACL and MCL in his knee that prematurely ended his rookie campaign. And it’s with that said that Tobin and Taylor entered the offseason with a priority placed upon fixing the Offensive Line, which has led to wholesale change; the Bengals added three starting linemen in Free Agency, including (Guard) Alex Cappa, (Tackle) La’el Collins, and (Center) Ted Karras, while spending a Fourth Round Pick on (Tackle) Cordell Volson. Cappa (pictured) received the heftiest contract of the newcomers (four years, $35 million), with $11 million in guarantees, signifying their intent to bolster the trenches. With Cappa and Collins holding down the right ride of the line and Karras taking over at Center, the question now becomes how the left side will shape up; (2019 11th Overall Pick) Jonah Williams has overcome injuries early in his career to start sixteen games last season at Tackle, but it’s a very different situation at Guard where the aforementioned Volson will be given every opportunity to compete with the incumbent, Jackson Carman, who is coming off a shaky rookie campaign. If this group comes together, then Burrow should be cleaner and the running game should be more consistent, which altogether means that Cincy should be a much more efficient Offense in 2022, which must be a frightening prospect for the rest of the AFC North, if not the conference as a whole.
Projected Finish: 12-5
After last year’s stunning run to Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals are indeed well ahead of schedule and with so many of their key players still on rookie deals it appears that their window of opportunity will remain open for quite some time. If the Offensive Line can simply improve to being an average unit, then the Offense as a whole should become far more efficient, which makes Cincinnati the class of the AFC North and once again a contender within a LOADED AFC.