Bengals ranked among NFL's worst in pressures allowed through two games
CINCINNATI — The Bengals offensive line has been one of the worst units in the NFL through two weeks of action.
Rookie quarterback Joe Burrow has taken his fair share of hits due to a below average offensive line.
The Bengals are third in the NFL in pressures allowed with 52 according to Pro Football Focus. Only the Giants (56) and Texans (57) are worse. The first four teams on the list — Cincinnati, New York, Houston and Denver — are a combined 0-8.
"You don’t like to see that," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said when about the number of hits his rookie quarterback is taking. "Of course we want Joe Mixon and Gio (Bernard) to be a big part of this thing, and we’ve got to do a better job putting ourselves in position to play with the lead so that we can do what Cleveland did and run the ball and just rely on those backs and take shots when they’re there with receivers. That’s the most effective way to play football."
Burrow leads the NFL in drop backs with 112. He threw the ball 61 times on Thursday night against the Browns. The Bengals have to find a way to protect him and give the wide receivers time to get open downfield.
The Bengals left the door open to some possible changes up front this week, but they don't have many options.
"Nothing’s off the table. That’s for certain," Taylor said when asked about making changes. "We don’t want to rush into any decisions and make sure we’re making the right decisions for the group. In some ways, we had a different right guard in there. We need some reps, some live reps. But again, we’ll make the best decisions for that group. We have a couple of extra days here."
The Bengals did sign guard Alex Redmond to the practice squad on Monday. He's made 23 career starts and could be active in Week 3.
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