The Bengals spent the first half trying to lean into a more balanced look, and it didn’t pay off. Cincinnati went under-center on 37% of its plays before halftime against Baltimore, but the offense managed only 59 total yards and no points while falling behind 13-0.
Then came the reset.
In the second half, the Bengals opened with under-center on two of their first four snaps, then basically shelved it. From that point on, they used under-center on only 2 of the next 27 plays for the rest of the half. That shift lined up with the kind of explosion Cincinnati needed, and it turned the game into a 35-13 win.
Joe Burrow was almost entirely in shotgun after halftime, and the Bengals let him work the way he does best: reading the field and attacking. On the five second-half possessions he played, Cincinnati scored touchdowns every time. The only reason Burrow’s second-half under-center percentage doesn’t look even lower is that he sat out the final drive with the game well in hand.
Tee Higgins was the biggest beneficiary of the change. After being held without a catch in the first half, he erupted after the break with 6 receptions for 148 yards and the touchdown that put Cincinnati in front for the first time.
The shotgun approach also seemed to help the ground game, even if the raw numbers didn’t jump off the page. The backs had more room to work when their chances came, and Samaje Perine showed it with a 15-yard run out of shotgun. He later capped the third straight scoring drive of the second half with a touchdown from under-center, which felt like the right spot to bring that look back into the mix.
Perine and Chase Brown will still have to give the Bengals more at times this season, but Sunday was a clear example of when to keep the under-center stuff in the back pocket. For this game, letting Burrow run the show from shotgun was the move, and it helped Cincinnati improve to 4-2 with a crucial road divisional win.
In Other News...
Demetrius Knight Jr Keeps Showing Up In Bengals' Biggest Moments
Demetrius Knight Jr. has become one of those Bengals defenders who seems to find himself in the middle of the games most consequential stretches, even when the day starts with a scare. In Sundays overtime win over the Titans, the rookie linebacker was shaken up in the first quarter and needed evaluation before getting back on the field, another reminder that his first NFL season has already included more than its share of bumps and bruises.
Knights latest return mattered almost immediately, because Cincinnati kept leaning on him in a game that stayed tight deep into the second half. He answered with one of the biggest defensive plays of the afternoon, a stop that flipped the momentum and fit the pattern he has been building all season: when the Bengals need a jolt, Knight keeps finding his way into the frame. [Read more 🡒]
Dexter Lawrence Is Giving Bengals Fans Another Reason To Love That Trade
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Zac Taylor has taken notice, praising Lawrences impact and pointing to the key plays he has made in recent games. The Bengals also locked him in with a one-year contract extension recently, a sign they see him as more than a short-term fix. For a team that has spent plenty of time searching for difference-makers, Lawrence is giving fans another reason to like the trade that brought him in. [Read more 🡒]
JaMarr Chases Sideline Frustration Says Plenty About Bengals Offense
JaMarr Chase did plenty of damage against the Titans, hauling in 11 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown, but the bigger takeaway for the Bengals may have been the edge he showed when things bogged down on the sideline. Cincinnatis offense has been searching for a cleaner rhythm early in games, and Chases body language offered another glimpse of how much that has been bothering one of its top playmakers.
Joe Burrow brushed off the sideline frustration as a good sign, reading it as competitive fire rather than a problem. Chase also leaned into the conversation afterward by pointing back to head coach Zac Taylor when asked about the slow starts, a nod to a phrase Taylor has already made part of the teams vocabulary. For a Bengals offense built around high expectations, even the frustration says something about how much is still being left on the field. [Read more 🡒]