The Cincinnati Bengals are already looking desperate early in the 2025 NFL season. Cincinnati lost by 25 points against Denver in Week 4 as the offense continues to struggle without QB Joe Burrow. One national analyst believes that Cincinnati's offensive scheme could be partially to blame.
ESPN's Marcus Spears explained on Tuesday how the Bengals' offensive scheme makes life difficult on Jake Browning.
“Now, this goes into multiple conversations I've had with Dan [Orlovsky] and [Mina Kimes] about the Cincinnati Bengals,” Spears said on ESPN on Tuesday. “Like, they give themselves no chance the way that they play football now. Especially against a team like [Denver] who can create pressure, runs those games up front.”
The Bengals designed their offense are Joe Burrow's unique talents. Burrow thrives when passing out of shotgun formations, which he does on 92% of his attempts per Sharp Football Analytics.
But without Burrow's elite processing skills, that scheme puts tons of pressure on Cincinnati's offensive line to hold up.
“And the pressure that is put on the offensive line for the Cincinnati Bengals is unfair,” Spears continued. “It's unfair to ask them, time and time again…to sort where these things that are happening.”
Spears argued it is too easy to game plan against the Bengals without Burrow.
“[Defenses] know [the Bengals] are either trying to push the ball downfield to Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase,” Spears concluded. “How can we get those guys taken out of the game, and we can tear the quarterback out the frame. That is the issue for Cincinnati right now.”
If the Bengals cannot fix their offense, their entire season will be doomed before Burrow can return.
Bengals to face dominant Lions team in Week 5 amid offensive struggles
Things will not get any easier for the Bengals in Week 5.
Cincinnati will host Detroit on Sunday in a matchup that could get ugly. The Lions look great on offense, even without Ben Johnson, and could run all over the Bengals.
While the Bengals may not have a great chance to win this game, they could get their offense back on track.
Detroit's defense suffered a pair of cornerback injuries in Week 4, and starter D.J. Reed is doubtful to play on Sunday. That could give Browning a chance to complete some passes and get into a rhythm.
But as usual, the offensive line has to hold up.
Bengals vs. Lions kicks off at 4:25PM ET on Sunday.
