Cincinnati ranks last in the NFL with just 49.0 rushing yards per game, as one of just two teams still under 200 yards rushing through three games. Brown’s 10 carries for just three total yards Sunday accentuated what already was a concern for the offense — and especially so now with quarterback Joe Burrow out and backup Jake Browning perhaps needing some extra support.
“We have to do a great job identifying the scheme that we’ve got a lot of confidence in to be able to give the running backs opportunity, and our guys need to step up and do a great job with that scheme,” Taylor said. “And so, I think it’s unfair to put it on a player. It’s on all of us offensively, collectively, to find a better answer. I do think that we’ve faced three challenging defenses early in the season. We’ve got to find our way to put pressure on them and stop saying it’s about the defense. There’s got to be moments where we attack the defense and put them on their heels, and we just got to find some momentum in drives to be able to do that.”
Cincinnati continues to try to find solutions heading into a Monday Night Football matchup at Denver.
Ironically, the Bengals actually had their most rushing yards in a game this season Sunday with 53 yards on 21 carries. They had less than 50 yards rushing in each of the first two games against the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Samaje Perine led with 21 yards on four carries, and rookie Tahj Brooks saw his first opportunities when Perine suffered a broken thumb in the second quarter and came in to record five carries for 17 yards.
Taylor said it just happened when Perine and Brooks were in, there were great opportunities they took advantage of with the scheme they hit versus the front Minnesota presented.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“We got three backs that we believe in, that we think we can all use in different ways, so to put that on Chase is a bit unfair, because it was the unit as a whole,” Taylor said.
Brown has 47 carries for 93 yards and one touchdown through three games, despite a standout training camp coming off a strong second year in the league. He built off a promising end to his rookie 2023 season and finished just shy of 1,000 yards after opening in a two-back system behind Zack Moss.
Moss eventually went down for the season with a neck injury, but Brown had already established himself as the No. 1 before then, and this year, he was ready to take on an even greater load as a workhorse and capable pass catcher, as well.
So, why haven’t the Bengals been able to get him into positions to be successful in 2025? As Taylor said, it’s on everyone, but the offensive line certainly takes some blame because there’s been little room for Brown to work.
“I would say a lack of execution and maybe a lack of aggressiveness,” center Ted Karras said when asked what’s happening in the run game. “They (the Vikings) were moving a lot, but we have to be more aggressive, be more physical. Creating displacement, knowing what to do and how to do it. The biggest thing would just be moving D-linemen off their spot.”
Rookie guard Jalen Rivers said the offensive line should be insulted that physicality is even in question because that’s such a big part of the job, but he and Karras said it’s more lack of execution and technique than just not being capable.
There’s also the question of whether the Bengals have prioritized the ability to pass block to the point that it has come at the expense of run blocking. According to Pro Football Focus grades, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. is the top offensive lineman in run-blocking with a 64.4, but there’s a big drop-off after that with center Ted Karras next at 49.4.
All of the offensive linemen brought in this year were considered strong pass blockers, but Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said that doesn’t mean they can’t be efficient run blockers as well.
“Very few people in this world are great at every part of their job,” Pitcher said. “… But that doesn’t mean that you can’t put together an effective rushing attack with the skillsets of the players we have. I firmly believe that. We have not done that to this point. There’s no getting around that.”
Cincinnati has played some unique defensive fronts so far. Minnesota was more vanilla in what it put on film the first two games and then threw in a lot of wrinkles Sunday.
Pitcher said the Vikings executed their plan, and the Bengals did not. He doesn’t believe it’s a “rip-it all up” situation with their scheme, but the coaching staff does need to come up with some solutions to help the running backs find success.
“That’s my responsibility as the offensive coordinator to make sure that we can put together a running game that, at the very least, can complement our passing attack, and hopefully is more than that, something that can stand on its own as a weapon,” Pitcher said. “So, we just have to go back and really analyze, what is it? It’s every week has got to be a blend of, what can our guys do well, married with what do we need to do to beat the opponent and make sure we’re not drifting too far in either direction. And we just try like hell to make it better.”
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