The Bengals offense returns its core almost entirely intact. This will be the best offensive line that’s ever played in front of Joe Burrow, the big move obviously being the offseason signing of left tackle Orlando Brown. It’s a contract year, and a big financial year, for a number of key players within the team. With big paydays coming for Cincinnati’s stars, like Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and others, the time to win a championship is now. There’s a real urgency factor here.
Another reason to be optimistic about the Bengals is that this will be the first uninterrupted training camp that Burrow will go through in his career. The 2020 offseason was interrupted by the pandemic. In 2021, he had the torn ACL. Then he had the appendectomy that delayed his return in 2022. This is now the first time Burrow has had a clean offseason. If you watch his press conferences, he’s talking, speaking, acting like a different guy. Of course, he’s never shy with confidence. But the way he’s speaking of the offense, he seems like he’s in complete control and has an added layer of comfort with what they’re doing.
On the defensive side, Lou Anarumo returns as coordinator, and he’s put together a strong body of work. The Bengals’ defense has improved each of the last three years, and are probably at or nearing their peak. We’re at the point where Bengals totals are about as low as they can go.
Last year, they were priced as an average team total-wise despite having a great offense. This year, there’s signs that point toward the offense getting better, but the defense could show slippage. They lost two starting safeties who played more than 1,000 snaps and are turning it over to two players who are low on experience, including a rookie. This is now a clear weak spot for opposing offenses to attack. If there’s someone who can get the most out of two young safeties, it’s Anarumo, but early in the year we could see some turbulence.
We are likely to see some very high-scoring Bengals games this year.