'We've Invested In It' - Joe Burrow Updates Bengals Under Center Growth Following Bears Joint Practice

The under-center offense has been under a magnifying glass in Cincinnati this training camp. Joe Burrow updated the process for adding that important wrinkle to a Bengals offense that wants to take another step forward in scheme diversity this season.

Cincinnati just wrapped its training camp joint practice with the Bears.

Burrow has historically struggled under center, as detailed by Warren Sharp in an article on Sharp Football Analysis earlier this month.

Glaring Spilts

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) takes a snap from center Ted Karras (64) in the first quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in Downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Check out Burrow’s splits over the past two years from that piece when passing the ball, out of 56 qualifying passers.

From Shotgun:

#3 EPA (+0.14)

#1 Success Rate (50%)

#8 Yards Per Attempt (7.5)

Under Center:

#49 EPA (-0.24)

#30 Success Rate (44%)

#53 Y/A (5.0)

Burrow knows they have to get more diverse, and they continue dialing into the right plays there this summer.

"Yeah, it's been good," Burrow said. "It's hard to tell in practice because you're not tackling, and a big part of under center is the run game, and in the run game you have to break tackles to make it go, and so we'll see come the first game, but you know we've invested in it, and hopefully it pays off."

All in all, the offense is continuing to tinker with what works and what doesn't during one of the rarest continuity timeframes for any franchise in the NFL.

The Bengals are one of the few teams to bring back the same head coach, quarterback, and offensive coordinator from the past three seasons, let alone just last year.

"Yeah, we're still figuring it out. I think number one, we have to be more consistent," Burrow said on Thursday about the offense in general. "We've shown flashes, but not terribly consistent, and so we have to be better at that for sure. And I definitely play a role in that. So, we have some things to fix, but we got three weeks until the first game, so we still got some time."

If Burrow and the offense can get that under center EPA figure closer to the top-10 shotgun mark listed above, then Cincinnati could average close to 30 points per game this season.

Check out more from Burrow at the bottom of this page.

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