Five Silver Linings Bengals Fans Can Be Thankful For
Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Thanksgiving isn’t just for getting a double-dose of frustrating opinions from uncles and broadcasters pretending the Dallas Cowboys are an elite franchise. It’s also a great time to give thanks. Now, Cincinnati Bengals fans, myself included, have struggled to find happiness in a season that has brought along everything but. But it’s Thanksgiving, dammit, and we’re gonna be thankful for things. So, here are some silver linings we can take joy in on Thursday:
Joe Burrow Is Unsatisfied
Burrow has put up MVP-caliber numbers that fully justify his enormous salary for next season and beyond. His 27:4 TD-to-INT ratio is among the best in the NFL. He’s set to make a boatload of money throughout the last half of the 2020s. You’d think of anyone on earth, he’d have the most reasons to be thankful.
And yet, Burrow has admitted on multiple occasions that the 2024 season is the most frustrating of his career. While the production from Burrow has been outstanding, the wins have been hard to come by, and the team struggles have not shaken Burrow’s confidence in his ability to be a franchise leader. While we should be thankful at this time of year, we’re giving a pass to Burrow, because being unsatisfied will be what fuels him going forward.
For all the teams that have struggled deeply to find a franchise quarterback, the Bengals had one fall into their lap nearly five years ago. Not only has he delivered on his promise to bring electrifying football to Cincinnati, but he has a never-ending pursuit to bring winning football to Cincinnati.
The Bengals Still Have (Some) Super Bowl Aspirations
There are three other 4-7 teams through Week 12 (the Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and Dallas Cowboys), and none of them are even considering the thought of a deep playoff run in 2024. The Bears have fired their offensive coordinator, the Saints fired their head coach, and the Cowboys are making the news more for things Jerry Jones says than for being a good team.
Despite two-thirds of the season falling deeply below everyone’s expectations, Bengals fans seem to be the one struggling team in the league that nobody will give up on until they are mathematically eliminated from the postseason. The offense is just as good, and arguably better than it was three years ago when the Bengals made the Super Bowl. Is it going to happen? No, but even a little hope is better than staring down at a lengthy rebuilding effort.
Ja’Marr Chase’s Contract Situation Didn’t Slow Him Down
Bengals fans were worried that Ja’Marr Chase wouldn’t be his old self after he couldn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension and only started practicing toward the tail end of training camp. His non-Ja’Marr-like production through Week 2 (10 receptions, 97 yards) didn’t do those nerves any favors. However, Week 3 rolled around and that narrative changed real fast.
JAMARR CHASE 41 YARD TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/B7fAnVH3T8
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 24, 2024
It was at that point Chase began lighting the world on fire. Since Week 3, he has totaled 63 receptions, 959 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Not only is he a mere five touchdowns away from tying the Bengals’ single-season record in touchdowns (held by Carl Pickens), but he has six games to smash it. When it comes time for Chase to begin to renegotiate his contract, he can put his stat sheet on the table and fully justify the pay raise that the Bengals failed to give him prior to the season.
Which, by the way…
National Media Is Calling Out Ownership
Yes, this is something to be thankful for.
Bengals fans have long had gripes with ownership. In the age of social media, everyone has a voice, and the ability to call out the organization has been easier than ever.
I have no idea how ownership can watch these games, see Burrow and Chase’s obvious frustration, and just be okay with it. 🤷♂️
— Bengals Backyard 🐅 (@BengalsBackyard) November 18, 2024
Fans are watching Burrow and Chase, who are at the height of their powers, leaving games visibly frustrated, and those images have been thrust into the national spotlight.
“Your quarterback and wide receivers… are playing some of the best football of their entire careers but the organization has let them down,” said ESPN’s Mina Kimes after the Bengals’ Week 5 loss to Baltimore. “I’m not writing them off because the offense has been that good, but they have to be aggressive about improving this defense before this season becomes a lost one.”
Fans and analysts alike are putting the much-maligned Bengals front office into the limelight once again, and the ping-pong table returning to the locker room has only amplified those discussions. Ownership is being held accountable for their lack of addressing the actual issues and making sweeping changes to a team that had Super Bowl aspirations entering 2024. The best-case scenario is that this season serves as a reality check for the front office, and they spend the 2025 offseason ensuring that a season like this doesn’t happen again as long as Burrow is under center.
The Right Tackle Revolving Door Has Stopped
For all the tough times the Bengals dealt with at right tackle over the last several years, Amarius Mims seems to have finally been the answer Cincinnati has been waiting for.
Amarius Mims makes me completely forget he is on the field. The highest compliment for an OT.
— Andrew (@WhoDeyDad_) October 20, 2024
Now, granted, Mims has had an up-and-down rookie season but his play has steadily improved over time. The Bengals signed Trent Brown to be the starter while Mims became accustomed to NFL play, and all of that went out the door when Brown suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3. Since then, Mims stepped in, ready or not, and has proven to be a serviceable starter. With the possibility of the Bengals upgrading at guard after rough seasons from Cordell Volson and Alex Cappa, Mims may even spend 2025 shouldering a much lighter load. But as it stands now, it appears like the Bengals’ gamble in round one of the 2024 NFL Draft will pay off, and that’s something fans can be thrilled about.
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