Bengals Passing Attack

[CrashDavisSports]

From Bengals.com..

But the Next Gen Stats say Burrow has not been just a long-ball thrower. His 156.8 passer rating on intermediate passes (10-19 air yards) since week seven is the highest in the NFL during span, and would be the highest for a full season in the Next Gen Stats era, including playoffs. Plus, Burrow to slot receiver Tyler Boyd is the duo with a perfect passer rating on intermediate passes since week seven.

And Tee Higgins, Chase's partner on the outside, has also been a reliable intermediate threat for Burrow since week seven. Burrow-Higgins ranks second behind only Burrow-Boyd among all duos in completion percentage on throws between ten and 19 yards.

--------------------------------------------------------

So Burrow to Chase is the best deep threat in the NFL as far as numbers. Burrow also had more passing TD's over 30 yards than the #2 and #3 QB combined (Mahomes and Brady).

Burrow is also #1 in the NFL with Tyler Boyd on passes between 10-19 yards (perfect passer rating since week 7 and Tyler Boyd has ZERO drops this year)

Burrow to Tee Higgins is #2 in the NFL on pass plays between 10-19 yards (second only to Burrow to Boyd).

Now, only if the offensive line can get fixed and give Burrow more than 2.5 seconds to make a decision and throw a ball. Holy crap that will be lethal. 51 sacks during the season, and he put up those kind of numbers on plays over 10 yards.

The Titans rush attack and our defense still scares me a bit. But only need to get a few stops to get Burrow and the gang an opportunity to put up points. The Titans don't get into many shootouts with their style of play. However, their passing defense ranks 25th in the NFL. So there is a chance for the Bengals to get their first ever playoff road win. Never in the franchise history have they won a playoff game on the road. That could be monkey number 2 removed from our backs this year, earlier than anyone projected this team to be ready to compete.

 

[Clayton]

In theory, Tennessee's Big 3 (Henry, Julio Jones, AJ Brown) are the best in the NFL if they're all healthy. Its not really a team that anyone can predict because they haven't been healthy but in theory they should be able to do just fine in a shootout. I think if you take one of those big 3 out of the equation then you're probably right, though.

Teams like the Chiefs and Ravens need to blitz to get pressure and Cinci eats that for breakfast but Titans might be able to play them straight up without blitzing and still get pressure on Burrow.

 

[fastforward]

It's the Bengals. It's their dodecahedronal playoff year. Calm down. Normal service will be resumed.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

It's the Bengals. It's their dodecahedronal playoff year. Calm down. Normal service will be resumed.

Sure sure. Keep telling yourself that.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

In theory, Tennessee's Big 3 (Henry, Julio Jones, AJ Brown) are the best in the NFL if they're all healthy. Its not really a team that anyone can predict because they haven't been healthy but in theory they should be able to do just fine in a shootout. I think if you take one of those big 3 out of the equation then you're probably right, though.

Teams like the Chiefs and Ravens need to blitz to get pressure and Cinci eats that for breakfast but Titans might be able to play them straight up without blitzing and still get pressure on Burrow.

I am not taking Tennessee lightly and we are a bit banged up on the defensive line. So I think this could be a very close game. I am hoping the Bengals come out on top, but Tennessee is no joke. They are a more traditional team. Not the aerial attack of the modern era, but a ground and pound with quality wideouts when needed. I think Julio has lost a step like AJ Green has. Brown on the other hand, he is a stud. It is going to be about stopping the run for Cincinnati and limiting Brown.

I don't think Mixon will have much running room, so I anticipate Burrow having to throw the ball to keep them in the game.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

It's the Bengals. It's their dodecahedral playoff year. Calm down. Normal service will be resumed.

this isnt your Daddy's Bengals!

They got rid of the gingers!

 

[ducky]

Now, only if the offensive line can get fixed and give Burrow more than 2.5 seconds to make a decision and throw a ball. Holy crap that will be lethal. 51 sacks during the season, and he put up those kind of numbers on plays over 10 yards.

The type of offense the Bengals are employing right now is ALWAYS going to have really high sack numbers.

On one hand you talk about all their deep passing. And then talk about the OL not giving the QB enough time. If they hadn't vastly improved, the numbers you are talking about in the passing game wouldn't have happened.

Cinci could used some tweaking on the OL now. But for the most part the OL they ran out there this year is better than most people are giving them credit for. Burrow still isn't excellent at doing the little things in the pocket yet to avoid the pressure. But just part of the development process.

Their offseason will be interesting though. Reiff was solid and a FA...but at 33 do they move on anyways? I would think they would bring him back but the age thing really is a big factor. And do they bring back Spain who is also a FA or just trust that Jackson will be ready next year finally. Center is the most obvious spot to upgrade. Too bad that Price completely busted. I would like to say one of the biggest 1st round OL busts there is in the last 5 years....but my Vikes with Bradberry will fight you for that title. Amazing how poor teams still are at evaluating centers from college to pro's.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

The type of offense the Bengals are employing right now is ALWAYS going to have really high sack numbers.

On one hand you talk about all their deep passing. And then talk about the OL not giving the QB enough time. If they hadn't vastly improved, the numbers you are talking about in the passing game wouldn't have happened.

Cinci could used some tweaking on the OL now. But for the most part the OL they ran out there this year is better than most people are giving them credit for. Burrow still isn't excellent at doing the little things in the pocket yet to avoid the pressure. But just part of the development process.

Their offseason will be interesting though. Reiff was solid and a FA...but at 33 do they move on anyways? I would think they would bring him back but the age thing really is a big factor. And do they bring back Spain who is also a FA or just trust that Jackson will be ready next year finally. Center is the most obvious spot to upgrade. Too bad that Price completely busted. I would like to say one of the biggest 1st round OL busts there is in the last 5 years....but my Vikes with Bradberry will fight you for that title. Amazing how poor teams still are at evaluating centers from college to pro's.

That is a pretty interesting theory on the oline. I would say you are probably accurate. The only thing I would not agree with is Burrow's ability to avoid hits. He is the best pressure avoiding QB's I have ever seen in Cincinnati. I would probably put him in the top 10 of that category of the current 32 starting QB's in the league. He should have been sacked probably 75 times this year to be honest with you if he wasn't so athletic and had such good pocket awareness.

I don't think Reiff is too old yet. I would like to see another 1 year deal, and I am fine with drafting an offensive line G/C in the draft. I would really like to see us sign a quality FA for the oline also.

1 - Above average C/G in FA
2 - Resign RT Reiff & LG Spain
3 - Draft 1st round a C/G/T (best available on the board)
4 - Cut Trey Hopkins

I think that would go a long way in rebuilding this line by the time next year roles around. Plus, you still have the 3 rookies to grown on from this year's draft and Prince from last years draft. Better overall depth.

 

[ducky]

3 - Draft 1st round a C/G/T (best available on the board)

At #32 the Cincinnati Bengals select....

 

[Clayton]

PFF does have the Bengals as the 20th rated Oline but Burrow IIRC is the #1 QB. Just looking at their blurb the suggestion Im seeing is that Burrow is great at avoiding pressure unless its coming from his left side. If Jonah gets beat, Burrow generally gets sacked which is likely a function of them throwing so deep.

Bengals in general are volatile. Titans in general are unknown because they've been so banged up this year. I do think that if the Bengals team from the Raiders game plays at that same level against Tennessee then they are losing by 2 TDs. Raiders kinda had implosions points at FS and RT (or whether Leatherwood plays) and any team built for the playoffs can exploit them. Tennessee also beat Buffalo earlier this year with the Derrick Henry show but they also beat KC with their passing game and defense.

I did pick the Bengals to win this in my pickem but I also thought they'd be a lot more impressive against the Raiders. I do think the Bengals can beat Tennessee and KC. I dont think they can beat Buffalo.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

At #32 the Cincinnati Bengals select....

That would be awesome. Thanks for the pump of confidence. haha

 

[CrashDavisSports]

PFF does have the Bengals as the 20th rated Oline but Burrow IIRC is the #1 QB. Just looking at their blurb the suggestion Im seeing is that Burrow is great at avoiding pressure unless its coming from his left side. If Jonah gets beat, Burrow generally gets sacked which is likely a function of them throwing so deep.

Bengals in general are volatile. Titans in general are unknown because they've been so banged up this year. I do think that if the Bengals team from the Raiders game plays at that same level against Tennessee then they are losing by 2 TDs. Raiders kinda had implosions points at FS and RT (or whether Leatherwood plays) and any team built for the playoffs can exploit them. Tennessee also beat Buffalo earlier this year with the Derrick Henry show but they also beat KC with their passing game and defense.

I did pick the Bengals to win this in my pickem but I also thought they'd be a lot more impressive against the Raiders. I do think the Bengals can beat Tennessee and KC. I dont think they can beat Buffalo.

Pretty sure no team went undefeated this year. So any of these teams are beatable by anyone else in the playoffs. Just have to play solid games on both sides of the ball. No turnovers on offense, get a couple on defense, no bad penalties and very few also. If you can play solid, mistake free football and take advantage of some miscues by the opposing team, I think any team in the playoffs are capable of winning.

If the Bengals do play well enough to beat the Titans, which is a big if, I think it will be extremely difficult beating the Chiefs or Bills on their home field with such a young inexperienced roster as the Bengals have. They have to get by Tennessee first who is no pushover. This should be a "Titanic" battle!

 

[Cincyfan78]

Couple of things:

The stats have zero to do with the playoffs - just show how good the 4-some of Burrow, Boyd, Higgins, and Chase have been. Burrow to Chase gets all the highlights, but the other 2 have been near the top of the NFL in certain respects, which is what keeps that offense moving - even if teams scheme to take Chase away.

The OL isn't really a function of Burrow's deep passing - the OL typically gives up over half of its sacks in under 2.5/3 seconds. The vast majority seem like Burrow has zero chance when that happens. Center has been particularly concerning because that is pressure right up the middle, which is immediate pressure that completely implodes a play. Bengals have to do something about C #1, IMO in F/A.

As for Tenn - they do a great job of just rushing 4 and dropping 7 and still getting sacks (just 30th in blitz rate, but 2nd in sack rate). That could be a concern because Burrow is at his best when pressured, QBR is nearly 30 points lower when not pressured, which usually means someone is 1-1, which directly correlates to the #1 OP topic on the yards/targets/success. Bengals really struggled with that against Denver, and Tenn will bring more offense to the game than Denver did. IMO, for the Bengals to be truly successful, they are going to have to show success running the ball and force Tenn to bring safeties into the box and leave the WR's in 1-1 matchups more than they would like.

In theory - this is a game where the offense needs to start fast and get out to leads early - put pressure on the Tenn offense to pass more than it wants to, and get away from running the ball. Should be a really fun game to watch.

 

[Clayton]

Pretty sure no team went undefeated this year. So any of these teams are beatable by anyone else in the playoffs. Just have to play solid games on both sides of the ball. No turnovers on offense, get a couple on defense, no bad penalties and very few also. If you can play solid, mistake free football and take advantage of some miscues by the opposing team, I think any team in the playoffs are capable of winning.

If the Bengals do play well enough to beat the Titans, which is a big if, I think it will be extremely difficult beating the Chiefs or Bills on their home field with such a young inexperienced roster as the Bengals have. They have to get by Tennessee first who is no pushover. This should be a "Titanic" battle!

Everyone can win the SB, thats for sure.

The Bills having a perfect offensive game against New England, though, does put the rest of the NFL on notice imo. If thats how they play every week, no one is beating them. The margin for error in the AFC is basically zero if that Buffalo team shows up every time.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Everyone can win the SB, thats for sure.

The Bills having a perfect offensive game against New England, though, does put the rest of the NFL on notice imo. If thats how they play every week, no one is beating them. The margin for error in the AFC is basically zero if that Buffalo team shows up every time.

If that team shows up, you are not wrong. But they have been wildly inconsistent also. So you never know from one week to the next. KC having Buffalo at home is a major plus, because I can't imagine anyone wanting to go to Buffalo to play.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

If that team shows up, you are not wrong. But they have been wildly inconsistent also. So you never know from one week to the next. KC having Buffalo at home is a major plus, because I can't imagine anyone wanting to go to Buffalo to play.

This year, the inconsistency is pretty common from almost every team, it seems. The Packers were really the only team that seemed to avoid that, for the most part. The Titans manhandled the Chiefs and Bills yet somehow had total duds vs. the Texans and Jets. Go figure. Same can be said for your Bengals. After they went to Baltimore and whipped the Ravens like a rented mule, they forgot to get off the plane for the pitiful Jets. It's just been a weird season of ups and downs.
As for the here and now, the Bills are healthy and playing possibly the best overall game of everyone left. All phases are in sync, it seems. Tough game at Arrowhead for sure but if they win, it just builds, imo.
Going to be interesting in Nashville for your Bengals @CrashDavisSports . You guys have a legitimate shot to win this thing but it's going to take a total team effort. Should be fun to watch as well. Titans really well coached and will be ready and Tannehill under rated and flying under the radar with all these star QBs out there. Bengals better hope they can come out of the gate hit and build a lead while Henry is shaking off the rust or it could be tough to win in Nashville.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

Btw, good luck to your boys out there, Cinci fans. I'm kinda rooting for you guys now in a way. Just a really fun team to watch play. Cheers eberybody.

 

[Clayton]

If that team shows up, you are not wrong. But they have been wildly inconsistent also. So you never know from one week to the next. KC having Buffalo at home is a major plus, because I can't imagine anyone wanting to go to Buffalo to play.

It might be a minor factor. I dont think the cold bothers the Chiefs. Wind bothers the Chiefs. The one knock on Mahomes is that his mechanics mean that he is only vaguely accurate as a QB and wind can really screw that up. As a Chiefs fan you'll take it because it means he can be vaguely accurate off-platform, under pressure, etc but it means you really dont want anything else messing with the accuracy of the pass.

I'll admit that the Bengals are about a year ahead of where I thought they'd be but I remember watching Burrow play against Mayfield in Burrow's rookie season and I was impressed at how much more talented Burrow looked.

The two units I was most wrong about in the AFC were the Titans defense and the Bengals defense. I thought they were both going to suck and they've both held up all year. That said, they are both going to get seriously tested from here on out so the Cinci/Tenn matchup is really going to come down to which defense gets exposed.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

It might be a minor factor. I dont think the cold bothers the Chiefs. Wind bothers the Chiefs. The one knock on Mahomes is that his mechanics mean that he is only vaguely accurate as a QB and wind can really screw that up. As a Chiefs fan you'll take it because it means he can be vaguely accurate off-platform, under pressure, etc but it means you really dont want anything else messing with the accuracy of the pass.

I'll admit that the Bengals are about a year ahead of where I thought they'd be but I remember watching Burrow play against Mayfield in Burrow's rookie season and I was impressed at how much more talented Burrow looked.

The two units I was most wrong about in the AFC were the Titans defense and the Bengals defense. I thought they were both going to suck and they've both held up all year. That said, they are both going to get seriously tested from here on out so the Cinci/Tenn matchup is really going to come down to which defense gets exposed.

@Clayton , I agree on those defenses in Tennesee and Cinci. They will both be tested mightily this Saturday as both of those units weaknesses are facing the other teams offensive strengths. Titans weak in the passing game, especially the big plays downfield but they will scheme to try and mitigate that. Cinci's offense loaded and the deep passing game is what they kill teams with. Pass rush will be huge on that side.
As for the Bengals, run defense a little suspect.Jacobs hit some big holes on them last week and even though King Henry maybe shaking off rust, the Titans have those other guys that can hit you on the mouth as well.Also, Ryan Tannehill can scramble and get first downs as good as most and their play action can catch teams off guard. The DCs on both sides will have to scheme up their "A" games for sure.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

This year, the inconsistency is pretty common from almost every team, it seems. The Packers were really the only team that seemed to avoid that, for the most part. The Titans manhandled the Chiefs and Bills yet somehow had total duds vs. the Texans and Jets. Go figure. Same can be said for your Bengals. After they went to Baltimore and whipped the Ravens like a rented mule, they forgot to get off the plane for the pitiful Jets. It's just been a weird season of ups and downs.
As for the here and now, the Bills are healthy and playing possibly the best overall game of everyone left. All phases are in sync, it seems. Tough game at Arrowhead for sure but if they win, it just builds, imo.
Going to be interesting in Nashville for your Bengals @CrashDavisSports . You guys have a legitimate shot to win this thing but it's going to take a total team effort. Should be fun to watch as well. Titans really well coached and will be ready and Tannehill under rated and flying under the radar with all these star QBs out there. Bengals better hope they can come out of the gate hit and build a lead while Henry is shaking off the rust or it could be tough to win in Nashville.

There is no doubt. I would like to think of all t he league inconsistencies as "parity". This league is a lot harder to win in than any other league. The worst team in football has a chance to overcome their shortcomings from one year to the next. Players get healthy, FA boosts rosters, draft improves depth and youth. There is no league like the NFL. Where a team like the 49ers and Bengals can go from one of the worst to feared in a single season (when the 49ers took Bosa #2 overall and then went to the Superbowl - Bengals took Chase #5 and now playing in the divisional round of the playoffs).

Even the Packers, as consistently as they won this year, it was not without struggles. They almost let Cincy beat them earlier in the year because their kicker couldn't make a FG or extra point to save his life, plus other games in there as well. Green Bay may have won a lot of games, but in several of those games, they were matched and the game could have gone either way. They just had Rodgers to lean on to get them that one extra play to put them in position to win.

You are right, Cincinnati has been extremely inconsistent. But they are a very young team, with a young coach and they take a lot of risks to try and get over that hump. Now, a lot of those risks have panned out, but they are still feeling their way through this which is encouraging that they have not played their best football yet. I think twice this year, the Bengals offense scored on every single possession during a game minus the kneel down like the Bills. Granted, not every one of those drives were TD's, many ended in FG's, but it is a game without punting or turnovers.

The Titans are a good team and they are built to take out high powered offenses like ours. They beat the Chiefs, they beat the Bills, and they have the talent and coaching to beat the Bengals. No one is taking the Titans lightly in Cincinnati, but I think the city/fans are excited and confident in our leaders to go out and put this team in a position to advance. You never know. If it ends this weekend, I will still say I am proud of my team for accomplishing what no one else thought they could do this early.