The Cincinnati Bengals got absolutely embarrassed in their first game without Joe Burrow. Cincinnati lost 48-10 against Minnesota in a lopsided game that was decided in the second quarter. Now Bengals head coach Zac Taylor wants his team to improve in one key area to help get back on track.
Taylor explained on Monday that his team needs to improve their running game after their struggle early this season.
“As a unit, we have to be better in the run game,” Taylor said on Monday, per Bengals reporter Charlie Goldsmith. “We have to do a great job identifying scheme that we’ve got a lot of confidence in to be able to give the running backs opportunities. Our guys need to step up and go a great job with that scheme.”
Cincinnati only managed 53 rushing yards on Sunday against Minnesota. Starting running back Chase Brown was the worst of the bunch, only managing three rushing yards on 10 attempts.
The Bengals have the league's worst rushing attack through three weeks. They ranked 32nd in both rushing yards (147) and rushing yards per game (49.0) so far.
That puts extra pressure on Jake Browning and Cincinnati's passing game. And it has kept the Bengals from being aggressors on offense.
“We’ve got to find our way to put pressure on them and stop thinking about the defense,” Taylor concluded. “There have to be moments where we attack the defense.”
Cincinnati certainly has a lot to fix in practice this week.
Jake Browning, Bengals needs to clean up turnovers after Week 3 disaster
Jake Browning is not hiding from how bad his performance was in Week 3.
Browning pointed to Cincinnati's five turnovers as the main reason the game got out of hand early.
“Any time you turn the ball over that much, you're going to get blown out,” Browning said after the game, per ESPN's Ben Baby. “And that's exactly what happened.”
Browning has played fast and loose with the ball in his two games this season. He threw three interceptions in Cincinnati's Week 2 victory after he stepped in to replace Burrow.
The Bengals could really use a break where they can gather themselves after Sunday's tough loss. Unfortunately, there aren't many cupcake games on Cincinnati's schedule this season.
Next up for the Bengals is a Week 4 matchup against the Broncos.
Denver will be the ultimate test for Browning against one of the NFL's best secondary units.
