Bengals still seeking identity on offense amid run-game woes

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals realized early on in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Oct. 4, that the running game wasn't getting them anywhere.

Joe Burrow's response to that was "let's throw it more," and that's what they did, but coaches and players since then have acknowledged it's not a sustainable way to win games. The Bengals are still establishing their identity on offense but look for solutions to bounce back this week as they prepare to face the Miami Dolphins (0-4) on the road Sunday.

Burrow threw 54 passes and completed 39 of them for 428 yards and one touchdown, but had two interceptions and a third that was negated by a late hit. Three impressive completions to begin the final drive gave the Bengals a chance to win, but ultimately, a pass to Chase Brown fell inches short of a first down in the red zone with 50 seconds left.

The Bengals finished with 15 carries for 23 yards, fell 22-17 to the Jaguars and are 2-2 heading into the final game before the bye.

"It just wasn't good enough," Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. "That falls on all of us to be better at it. Is it a dramatic shift? No. It's not a dramatic shift. But there are things that we can continue to work in and that will fit us. Part of, through four weeks, you're finding what your identity is going to be for the whole year. I think, first quarter of the season, you got a snapshot of OK, here are some things that we can continue to emphasize. Here are some things that we need. And so we have to improve at them — we can't just abandon them — and find what our identity is going to be these last three quarters of the season. … We'll be smart enough to adjust and do what's best for our offense to score points."

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The Bengals had been efficient — but not explosive — in the running game the first three games, but Brown managed just 10 yards on nine carries and 71 yards receiving on 11 catches, which tied Tee Higgins for the most receptions in the game.

Jacksonville finished with 111 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.1 yards per carry).

"I think we got to do a better job with communication," Bengals center Ted Karras said when asked how to fix the running game. "That starts with me up front. I think that game just declared to what it was, you know, turning into a 400-yard passing game. What we communicated to the guys today, we did have a chance to win at the end, and that would have maybe covered up some of this stuff, but as a unit, we felt that this was well below our standard, and we need to get better."

Karras said the offensive line's performance overall wasn't good enough, and it reminded him of last year's blowout loss at Minnesota when the Bengals managed just 171 yards of offense and Jake Browning was pressured 17 times.

Cincinnati moved the ball better than that on Sunday, but a team that passes for 428 yards should be able to score more than 17 points, Karras said. Burrow was pressured 14 times and sacked twice, with those being charged to Dalton Risner and Amarius Mims, according to Pro Football Focus.

"I didn't think we passed off stunts very well," Karras said. "I think we gave up way too many hits. I think everyone took a turn doing something that equated to 17 points, which isn't going to get it done. I think our defense gave us a winning effort – 22 points against the Jags should come out of there with a win, and ultimately ended up coming, what six inches short on fourth and 10? It wasn't our best."

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Taylor said when you're passing more than 50 times, protection is going to be an issue. Risner was playing on an injured knee, and the Jaguars have a strong defensive line that made it even more challenging.

Cleaning up the run game to take pressure off the offensive line and quarterback will be key going forward. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said that's going to take a combination of the players better understanding their responsibilities, executing and making better in-game decisions and the coaches making decisions in-game and evaluating the best way to move forward at any given point in the season.

"I don't think the way we played the game yesterday is a sustainable strategy for long-term success," Pitcher said. "I do think we chose to play the game (Sunday) in a way that gave us the best chance to win (Sunday). We need to look at what we're doing well and, more importantly, what we're not doing well, and set us on a course to get better."

Karras said going from 2-0 to open the season to now sitting at 2-2 "doesn't feel very good" but the Bengals must get to 3-2 going into the bye. A quarter of the way through the season, it's time to establish what kind of team this is going to be for the rest of the season.

"September football's over, so it's going to start declaring who we are, and I love what Pitch said at the beginning of the year: We can be whoever we need to be to win a football game," Karras said. "Had a chance airing it out. Obviously, we have the best QB and receivers in the world. So now we just have to keep running. Got to get back to practice, and we got to go to South Florida and get a win before the bye."