There was always an idea, especially here, that the Cincinnati Bengals could have a very slow start to the 2022 season before getting back to playoff and possibly Super Bowl form.
But few would have predicted that idea would have turned out so dramatically accurate.
The Bengals started the season 0-2, taking losses to Mitchell Trubisky and Cooper Rush of all quarterbacks. Both were late field goal losses and one only happened because of a freak injury to a long-snapper. But 0-2 was 0-2.
Fast forward to now, the Bengals are 8-4 and winners of four in a row and six of their last seven. The entire offensive line and Joe Burrow himself were slow slow starters but have erupted since, as noted by Pro Football Focus’ grades for the offense since the 0-2 start:
Since starting 0-2, the Bengals’ offense is on fire
83.8 PFF grade (3rd)
91.0 passing grade (1st)
The only team with passing and rushing grades of 85.0+ pic.twitter.com/PQWd6llzvu
— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) December 8, 2022
And then there’s MVP contender Burrow himself with the head-turning numbers:
Joe Burrow since starting 0-2:
90.8 passing grade (2nd)
— PFF (@PFF) December 7, 2022
The wildest thing? None of it is too shocking. Burrow had the ruptured appendix during training camp that left him scrambling to add weight back. The offensive line revamped four of the five spots, one with a mid-round rookie, and guys were in and out of training camp with issues, limiting the unit’s reps together.
Approaching mid-December, Burrow is back to form and the line plays well together as a unit (with some smart tweaks to the scheme by coaches, too). The result is an MVP and Super Bowl contender and a good example of the old adage better late than never.