Over the last two weeks, the Cincinnati Bengals have been steamrolled to the tune of 48-10 by the Minnesota Vikings and 28-3 by the Denver Broncos. At no point in either game did it feel like the Bengals had even a fighting chance. The Vikings and Broncos are not among the NFL’s best as it stands, and yet, they looked like 2019 LSU against an FCS team. There are plenty of places to point the finger and assign blame. The coaching is not there, the front office is inept, the quarterback play is a massive drop off, the Bengals’ offensive line still stuggles, etc. etc. etc.
Heading into last offseason, the goal for the team was supposed to be to upgrade the defense and give the Bengals’ offensive line a boost. The guard combo of Cordell Volson and Alex Cappa was the worst in the NFL. So, the team went out and drafted two guards and signed Dalton Risner. Risner was disappointing in his limited action and was benched for one of those rookies.
This year’s unit is not good, but Zac Taylor and Jake Browning are exacerbating the issue. This isn’t to say the Bengals’ offensive line is in the top half of the league; they’re nowhere close. However, they aren’t really being given a chance at this juncture.
The Bengals Offensive Line is Being Left Out to Dry
Let’s get this out of the way. In its current form, the Bengals offensive line is bad. Is it Groundhog Day? It feels like we’ve been saying this ever since the team decided to lowball its cornerstones and let the likes of Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler walk. Are they cursed? Did Whitworth’s family commission those Etsy witches to curse the team? Is it like the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts in Harry Potter? If only it were so simple.
No, the Bengals just cannot develop offensive line talent anymore. Orlando Brown Jr. was a Pro Bowl player at one point and has struggled. Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers are showing their rookie growing pains. All in all, they look like they will be fine, but as rookies, it’s incredibly difficult to just jump in and succeed. Ted Karras has taken a step back. Amarius Mims, the player everyone penciled in as the future franchise right tackle, has continuously battled injuries and is not playing to the elite athleticism they were sold on.
The Bengals currently have the 28th ranked pass blocking offensive line and 32nd ranked run blocking offensive line, per PFF.
They also have the 32nd ranked running game by EPA/rush. https://t.co/wcGHQATgMQ
— Gridiron Grading (@GridironGrading) September 30, 2025
The unit cannot run block. Chase Brown and company are averaging 50 yards per game. The team has a grand total of 200 yards on the ground, 120 less than the next team. There are 24 individual players with more than 200 yards this year. “Oh, well, they’ve only run the ball 76 times, the fewest times in the NFL.” Yeah, but their 2.6 yards per carry is still the worst by 0.7 yards. They are worse than the Arthur Smith-led Pittsburgh Steelers.
Making Things Worse
When you have a unit as bad as the Bengals’ offensive line is, you have to be creative to minimize its impact. You see this all the time in the NFL; if a team has an ineffective unit, they go away from them or, at the very least, work around them. The Bengals’ offensive line being bad is not a unique phenomenon, and yet, it’s a yearly thing.
Taylor’s scheme puts more stress on the line than necessary. His offensive line coach has not been able to get any kind of tangible jump from any player. Conversely, they’ve all regressed!
At the same time, Browning is legitimately leaving the unit out to dry.
About last night… pic.twitter.com/783FGfj2s3
— Wincy (@WincinnatiPod) September 30, 2025
One of the most embarrassing plays last night was when Nik Bonnito and Jonathan Cooper shot past Mims and Brown and met at Browning within two seconds. On one hand, why are all three interior offensive linemen AND Samaje Perine quadruple-teaming one player? Well, Bonnito and Cooper released outside, and that should be on the tackles; Perine wouldn’t have been able to help. On the other hand, when you are on the road, quarterbacks tend to use the silent count. Browning waited until there was one second left on the play clock, setting up Bonnito and Cooper perfectly to sell out and fire off the snap. Those two are already great off the snap. Why make things easier?
A good coach would be able to recognize that his offensive line is a weakness, so he’d tailor the offense to neutralize that. Yes, there are games where you can’t do much, like the Kansas City Chiefs learned in both Super Bowl losses. At the same time, having bad offensive lines is not a problem unique to Cincinnati.
The Bengals’ offensive line is an issue. The fact that the Bengals are refusing to try and mitigate the issue is the thing that shows the coaching staff and front office are in over their heads.
Main Image: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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