NFL
By Jalen Willingham
The 2023 season ended in a major disappointment for the Cincinnati Bengals by missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020. When Joe Burrow went down for the rest of the year in week 11 with a torn ligament in his wrist, the Bengals hopes of getting back to the Super Bowl went with him. Cincinnati as a team however did not go down without a fight.
With the Bengals finishing 2023 with a 9-8 record, the AFC North became the first division where every team finished with a winning record since the NFL West in 1935. Although the Bengals finished 9-8, they failed to make the playoffs. A 1-5 record in their division did them no favors. Cincinnati had a slow start to the year due to Joe Burrow playing injured and the team never reached its full potential. Just about everything that could go wrong did in fact go wrong.
Jake Browning
In Joe Burrows absence, the Bengals saw that they have a viable backup quarterback in Jake Browning. When he took over as the signal caller, I thought they would lose every game to end the year. How wrong was I? Browning gave defenses a run for their money and kept things interesting for Cincinnati. He’s far from Joe Burrow, but he showed the team that they can win a few games with him as a backup. Both head coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Brian Callahan did a solid job at keeping the offense viable without Burrow.
The Running Backs
Towards the latter half of the season, the Bengals found a solid one-two punch with Joe Mixon and rookie Chase Brown at running back. A lot of Bengals fans don’t like Mixon, but he clearly still has a good amount left in the tank at 27 years old. Finishing the season with 1034 yards rushing and 1410 scrimmage yards along with 12 total touchdowns show that.
Brown has also shown that he can be used in a variety of ways, especially in the passing game. I wouldn’t mind, nor would I be surprised, if the Bengals do draft another running back going into the 2024 season to eventually replace Mixon though. The Bengals have talent at the running back position. The run blocking could be much better though
Offensive Line
As weird as this may sound, the offensive line for the Bengals has peaked. As long as offensive line coach Frank Pollack remains on the team, I don’t think I or many other Bengals fans will ever be truly satisfied with the product up front. It’s also important to note that Pollack is the run game coordinator as well. Pollack is the byproduct of the group continuing to underperform. Adding left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. proved to be a good move. The guys up front still gave up 50 sacks. With the Bengals having the 18th pick, they need to consider the offensive line again. They need to draft better than what they have done though.
Outside of Brown, I do believe that both Ted Karras and Alex Cappa are decent starters. The Bengals will need to decide on whether or not they move on from Jonah Williams in 2024. After being moved to right tackle and having his 5th-year option picked up in 2023, he will have a chance at being re-signed or hitting free agency. Someone may also need to be brought in to compete with Cordell Volson as he enters year three.
The Passing Targets need a makeover
Third-year receiver Ja’Marr Chase continued to be one of the best receivers in football making his third straight pro-bowl. His counterpart, Tee Higgins, unfortunately, had a down year dealing with injuries and career lows in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. It also doesn’t help that his contract will be in question going into the offseason. I fully believe he will be a Bengals in 2024 though. Tyler Boyd on the other hand will most likely be gone sadly. Between rookies Charlie Jones and Adrei Iosivas, someone will have to step up to be the third receiver.
The Bengals offense is being held back by the lack of investment in the tight-end position. They brought in Irv Smith Jr. through free agency and he was an absolute disappointment. In the 2023 season, Bengals tight ends had 88 catches for 686 yards and four touchdowns. Tanner Hudson emerged as a viable option but the Bengals need a guy who excels at blocking and also has the athleticism to get open consistently. Mahomes has Travis Kelce. Lamar Jackson has Mark Andrews. Josh Allen now has rookie Dalton Kincaid along with Dawson Knox. Joe Burrow needs a good security blanket that he can lean on in the passing game when Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are being double-teamed.
Defensive growing pains
The Bengals defense disappointed a ton. I expected much more from the unit overall. After losing both Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency, the drop-off in play was very noticeable. Second-year safety Daxton Hill had an up-and-down year. Nick Scott on the other hand was a complete headache to watch but fortunately rookie Jordan Battle showed a ton of promise in the second half of the season. He has all the tools to be a great replacement for what the Bengals lost in Vonn Bell.
Jordan Battle in his last 3 games:
66 coverage snaps
7 targets
4 receptions allowed, 29 yards
1 INT
27.4 passer rating allowed— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) January 8, 2024
When Cam Taylor-Britt went down due to injury, there would be many times when teams would pick on rookie Cam Taylor Britt. The Bengals secondary is very young with Daxton Hill, Cam Taylor-Britt, and rookies Jordan Battle and DJ Turner. They will need more time to grow and develop. I expect the unit to improve drastically in 2024.
It was the Bengals defense that actually lost them games as well due to not being able to get stops consistently. That’s unacceptable in the AFC North. They finished 31st in total yards allowed. Whenever you can’t slow down a barebones Steelers offense, you should be extremely worried. Tight ends feasted on this defense all 2023. Stopping the run was also a problem for a lot of 2023. They were 26th in yards allowed and 25th in touchdowns allowed.
The great news is that the Bengals once again have a top pass rusher in the NFL in Trey Hendrickson who finished second in the league with 17.5 sacks. The bad news is that there isn’t much pressure being generated outside of him though. Sam Hubbard only had six sacks and the defense is in desperate need of a consistent interior pass rusher. They once had that with Larry Ogunjobi in 2021. Neither B.J. Hill or Zachary Carter have been the best replacement as far as creating pressure up the middle.
It’s even more disappointing when you realize how much money is tied up in the defensive line and other areas on defense. There will be a lot of changes and adjustments in 2024 if the defense is to improve. No head coaching interviews for defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo this time around.
Looking ahead
The Bengals ended the 2023 season on a good note. Going into the 2024 season, they need to attack the trenches. Cincinnati will have $70,000,000 in cap space which ranks sixth in the league. A very important offseason awaits them. Winning in the AFC North has never been more difficult, and the Bengals need to prepare for that. As long as Joe Burrow is healthy, this team will have a chance against anybody.
Projected 2024 #NFL Cap Space
(based on Top 51, $242.5M cap)1. WAS, $85M
2. TEN, $79M
3. HOU, $74M
4. IND, $72M
5. NE, $72M
6. CIN, $70M
7. CHI, $62M
8. DET, $61M
9. LV, $52M
10. ARI, $51M
…
30. BUF, -$41M
31. MIA, -$43M
32. NO, -$76Mhttps://t.co/yMbvYSKT1K— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 8, 2024
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