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Is There Finally Hope In the Bengals’ O-Line Room?

Sep 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras (64) runs onto the field before the game against the New England Patriots at Paycor Stadium.

Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

By Alex Schubert on September 11, 2024

The Bengals are under heavy scrutiny right now after putting up an embarrassing performance against the New England Patriots in Week 1. In particular, Joe Burrow averaged only 5.6 yards per attempt, despite facing limited pressure from New England’s pass rush.

It would be easy to look at all that and focus solely on Burrow’s inefficiency, especially given the final score. With his short throws and aversion to turnovers, he played more like a game-manager than a quarterback who was hailed as a franchise savior. The loss on Sunday dropped Burrow’s career record in Weeks 1 and 2 to a paltry 1-8.

But there’s a bright side, at least. As we mentioned before, Burrow faced a limited amount of pressure in the game. That can be attributed to the big fellas in front of him, who put up a very strong performance that provides a glimmer of hope in a week where it’s hard to find any.

The Bengals’ top priority over the last few offseasons has seemed to be trying to figure out how to protect their shiny new franchise QB. Since 2020, Burrow has been sacked 151 times, which is the second-highest total of anyone in the NFL (Russell Wilson takes the cake with 180 sacks, if you’re curious). That said, if Week 1 is any indication of things to come, that’s great news for the offensive line, especially since all five members played 100% of the snaps.

Perhaps the strongest performers in pass protection on Sunday were Cordell Volson and Ted Karras, as neither of them allowed a single sack, pressure, or hurry in the entire game. Volson, who has experienced a bunch of growing pains since joining the NFL, earned the highest overall PFF grade of any Bengals’ offensive lineman, getting a 79.0 from the analysts.

The promising performance from the two interior offensive linemen should give Bengals fans confidence as the team travels to Kansas City next Sunday, where they will face Chris Jones, who is perhaps the best defensive tackle in the league.

Orlando Brown Jr., the Bengals’ most expensive lineman, faced a down year in 2023. But Week 1 was a solid bounce back, as Brown was dominant in pass protection, allowing only one hurry and one pressure all game. It’s an optimistic sign for a player who is looking to return to his prior form, which got him selected to four straight Pro Bowls from 2019 to 2022.

The right side of the line was relatively consistent all game, but a few mistakes brought down their overall grades. Alex Cappa had a mostly decent outing, but he committed a costly holding penalty and gave up an even costlier sack on third-and-short in the second quarter as the Bengals were looking to tie the game.

The weakest link in pass protection was Trent Brown, who played his first game at right tackle since 2021. He allowed four pressures, three hurries, and one sack in the performance, but it isn’t necessarily a reason to hit the panic button. With more reps to get in the groove, things will likely improve for the long-time offensive tackle. In addition, while he struggled in protecting Joe Burrow, he posted a solid game as a run blocker, garnering a 71.3 grade from PFF.

Not to mention, they have this guy waiting to get in the trenches.

While Burrow typically struggles in the early parts of the season, he usually finds his footing soon after the season starts. Case in point, in 2023, even after Burrow hurt his calf in training camp, he managed to look like his old self by Week 5.

The team as a whole needs to recover after yet another slow start. It was a gut-punch, and ugly as hell to watch, but a solid performance against New England’s pass rush at least should give fans some signs of optimism.

As noted earlier, the O-line will face a significantly tough test with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, who had the second-most sacks in the NFL in 2023 (57.0). If they can do that, then things will ease up with a date versus the league-worst Washington Commanders’ pass defense in Week 3. After that, they will face a Carolina Panthers team in Week 4 that not only had the fewest sacks in the NFL last season (27.0), but also traded away their top pass rusher from 2023, Brian Burns.

The offensive line is still not a finished project, and won’t be until they can get Mims healthy and ready to play. That said, Week 1 was a significant improvement from where they were just a few seasons ago, and that’s reason enough to not be completely pessimistic about the Bengals going forward.

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