To the surprise of many, the reigning AFC Champion, Cincinnati Bengals are 0-2.
After falling to the Dak Prescott-less Cowboys, the Bengals need a win.
Luckily for them, they take on the New York Jets in Week 3.
Or maybe that is not so lucky?
Last year the Bengals lost to the Jets in New York by a score of 34-31.
It was the infamous Mike White game, where the then-Jets starter lit up the Bengals for 405 passing yards.
Now as we get set for the Week 3 showdown, all the pressure is on Cincinnati.
Everything in this offense starts with quarterback Joe Burrow.
He needs to protect the ball and his offensive line needs to protect him.
Joe Burrow was sacked 51 times last season.
The Bengals overhauled their offensive line.
He is on pace to be sacked 111 times this season.@PointsBetUSA pic.twitter.com/jzKmmhEL4v
— StatMuse (@statmuse) September 18, 2022
Those have both been difficult for the Bengals this season.
In two games, Burrow has already been sacked 13 times.
Not only is the O-line in Cincinnati a disaster but Burrow does them no favors by holding onto the ball for too long.
The Bengals tried to address the offensive line in the offseason but it has not gotten any better.
While the Jets’ pass rush is nowhere near as good as the Cowboys and Steelers’, it will be interesting to see if they can have similar success against this porous offensive line.
This is a must-win game for the Bengals, as they can not afford to fall to 0-3 playing in the tough AFC North.
Finding Their 2021 Form
After his breakout season last year, the third-year QB has struggled early in this season.
He has thrown three touchdowns this year to four interceptions, and it looks like the “Super-Bowl hangover” might be affecting the entire offense.
Despite the Jets’ record of 1-1, they do not have the talent on defense to match up with the Bengals.
If given the time, Burrow should be able to find Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Mixon all game.
The Bengals might even look to establish the run early in the game to try and slow down the pass rush.
Taking sacks are drive killers for any offense, it is hard to have any consistency when each drive they end up behind the chains.
If nothing else the Bengals have good enough playmakers where they should try some short passes.
Screen passes and picks plays are being used effectively by a multitude of teams in the NFL.
Those types of plays should at least keep Burrow off the ground.
Cincinnati had plenty of success using their empty formation last season.
Meaning, they would spread out five wide receivers and throw the ball all around the field.
But, that is not working this season, partly because defenses are adjusting to that formation.
Here's Joe Burrow yelling to Zac Taylor: "No empty set."
You can actually hear him say it. #Bengals used Joe Mixon as a blocker the next play. Burrow was sacked. Led to a FG. pic.twitter.com/dyOBm1GSiP
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) September 19, 2022
Dallas had a ton of success against empty in Week 2 by simply rushing more people than the Bengals could block.
Burrow and the Bengals’ offense are still adjusting to defenses playing two-high safeties and taking away the big plays that fueled their team in 2021.
At the end of the day, the Bengals are still a very talented team that is still trying to figure things out this season.
Despite last year’s result, this Week 3 matchup against the Jets seems like a good time to finally get rolling.
NEXT: Bengals Fans Must Be Concerned After Shocking 0-2 Start