The Bengals’ offense has been forced to lean hard on the air game through five weeks, and the numbers tell the story. Cincinnati is sitting 10th in the league in points per game at 25.6, but the ground attack has offered almost nothing to balance it out. The Bengals are averaging just 3.6 yards per carry as a team, and against Jacksonville they managed a Zac Taylor-era low of 23 rushing yards.
So if the offense has kept moving, it’s been because the passing game has picked up the slack. The biggest driver has been Joe Burrow, who has thrown for 1,361 yards with 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
His 71.4% completion rate leads the NFL, and he’s been sacked nine times behind an offensive line still sorting itself out. Through three games, his production was nearly identical to his 2024 pace, the season when he led the league in passing yards and touchdowns.
Burrow hasn’t had to do it alone, though. Tee Higgins has been the steady downfield presence, piling up 27 catches for 423 yards and one score. He leads the team in receiving yards by more than 130, and his 90-yard, one-touchdown outing in Pittsburgh showed exactly why Cincinnati has leaned on him so often.
Ja’Marr Chase has been just as important, even with the hiccup against Jacksonville, when he missed most of the game with a concussion. He has still produced 27 catches for 289 yards and four touchdowns, and his return six days later in Miami included a one-armed, 45-yard touchdown grab while getting mugged by the corner.
Mike Gesicki has made a smaller number of catches count in a big way. He has only 12 receptions, but those have gone for 159 yards and four touchdowns. One in every three catches has ended in the end zone, which is exactly the kind of red-zone finishing Cincinnati has needed from the 31-year-old tight end.
And up front, Amarius Mims has been a major reason Burrow has had a fighting chance. The mammoth right tackle has been outstanding this season. Some outlets have him charged with zero pressures or sacks allowed, while PFF has him as the sixth-best pass-blocking tackle in the league right now.
In Other News...
Bengals Suddenly Have A Huge AFC North Chance In Baltimore
A tight Browns win over Baltimore in Week 6 has suddenly made the AFC North look a lot more open, and that matters plenty in Cincinnati. With Cleveland and Baltimore now sitting with two losses apiece, the division has tightened up just as the Bengals come out of their bye week and turn their attention to the Ravens. For a team trying to climb back into the mix, the timing could hardly be better.
Baltimore has still looked dangerous at times, but the cracks are hard to ignore, especially along an offensive line that has been under pressure. Cincinnati now gets a front-row seat to the race when it faces the Ravens next, and a win there would do more than just help in the standings. It would give the Bengals a real chance to reshape the division picture before the season moves deeper into the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Face A Secondary Decision Fans Will Be Watching Closely
With the Bengals dealing with injuries at cornerback, any hint of help for the secondary is going to draw attention, and Riq Woolen is the latest name to surface in that conversation. The Philadelphia cornerback has been mentioned in trade discussions, and while nothing suggests the Eagles are actively pushing him out, his profile makes him easy to imagine as a fit for a defense that could use more depth and stability on the back end.
Woolen would bring plenty of appeal if Cincinnati decided to explore the market further. He is a 27-year-old Pro Bowl corner with the size and physical tools teams covet, but there are practical questions around whether the Bengals could make a move work and whether Philadelphia would be willing to part with him at all. For now, it is the kind of secondary storyline that can linger around a team until the injury situation forces a real decision. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Have More Than One Comeback Story Fans Should Be Talking About
Through the first five games, the Bengals have seen more than one comeback arc take shape at once, and it goes beyond the obvious one under center. Joe Burrow is back from toe surgery and steering the offense at a level that has put Cincinnati right back in the conversation, but he is not the only player reminding the team what a healthy, settled roster can look like. Erick All Jr. has made it back from ACL injuries and is actually getting into games, while Demetrius Knight Jr. has been steadier at linebacker than he was a year ago.
There is also a less talked-about resurgence in the passing game, where Mike Gesicki has become a more dependable scoring threat than he has been in recent seasons. For a Bengals team that has spent plenty of time managing injuries and reworking pieces around Burrow, those individual rebounds matter because they change the depth and the ceiling of the roster at the same time. The encouraging part for Cincinnati is not just that these players are back, but that each one seems to be adding something useful, even as the bigger picture still has room to evolve. [Read more 🡒]