The Bengals can’t win the Super Bowl if their offense keeps being so bad in one key area

The Bengals’ big win failed to answer questions about their pass blocking.

The narrative reads like a fairy tale. Joe Burrow, living up to his franchise savior status in year two as a pro, delivered the Cincinnati Bengals — a team few expected to contend in 2021 — from a 21-3 first half deficit and sent the team to its first Super Bowl since 1989.

There’s no denying the young quarterback’s composure after his 3-0 start in the postseason. There are, however, reasons to worry about whether he can be prolific in Super Bowl 56.

Burrow was the engine behind Cincinnati’s 27-24 overtime road win as a 7.5-point underdog against the Kansas City Chiefs. He also recorded his lowest passer rating since a Week 13 loss to the Chargers against a deficient Kansas City secondary. Why? Because the blocking in front of him is the major obstacle that stands between the QB and his best self.

Burrow was only sacked once compared to the nine times the Tennessee Titans hit him in the Divisional Round, but the Chiefs’ pass rush dictated the pace of the Bengals’ offense. The Kansas City Chiefs’ passing defense, one week after getting torched by Josh Allen and Gabriel by-god Davis, rebounded to hold Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals’ aerial attack to only 250 yards on 38 passes — a 6.6 yards per attempt that was Burrow’s second-lowest mark of the year.

This wasn’t the product of Tyrann Mathieu’s return to the lineup or Charvarius Ward’s ability to reclaim the sticky coverage he flashed during the regular season. Kansas City shut down Cincinnati’s deep game because the Bengals’ offensive line couldn’t stop even the most basic pass rush Sunday.

Allen, buttressed by an effective blocking scheme in front of him, torched the Chiefs’ secondary — notably without Mathieu — in the Divisional Round. He threw 13 of his 37 passes at least 10 yards downfield (nine completions, four touchdowns) and seven of those at least 19 yards downfield (four completions, three TDs). Burrow, comparatively, attempted 12 of his 38 passes 10+ yards downfield and completed only four. His passer rating on these throws was a minuscule 30.1.

This was part of Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor’s plan. His offense was loaded with quick-hit options to alleviate the stress of a Kansas City pass rush that ranked sixth in the league in pressure rate during the regular season. Burrow got hit often in situations where he should not have been hit, but he was able to pick up modest gains to keep the chains moving.

Here’s a third-and-2 in which the Bengals’ offensive line has a five-on-four advantage and still allow Chris Jones to break into the backfield approximately 1.5 seconds after the ball is snapped:

Later that drive, the Bengals kept their tailback in tight to repel a five-man pass rush and, despite the numbers advantage, still only gave Burrow 2.3 seconds to deliver a first-down strike on third-and-five.

This plan panned out but it certainly wasn’t ideal and, more importantly, helped contribute to a steep early deficit. Compare those quick-shot routes under pressure to what happened when Burrow’s protection worked like it was supposed to. Cincinnati’s first play of the second half gave the second-year QB plenty of time in the pocket. He responded by calmly delivering a strike to a wide-open Tee Higgins for his longest completion (by air yards) of the day.

This wasn’t always the case — Kansas City did a nice job covering a third-and-long later in that drive despite a clean pocket — but it was a recurring theme. Burrow didn’t burn the Chiefs deep like Allen did because he rarely had the time to look downfield before a rising tide of red jerseys swamped him. His lone interception in the game was the product of a four-man pass rush that blanked a play fake, got in his face 10 full yards behind the line of scrimmage, and forced him to underthrow a pass to Ja’Marr Chase that L’Jarius Sneed was able to step in front of (after a bit of an uncalled hold, sure).

Ultimately, the Bengals overcame this and erased an 11-point second-half deficit despite only scoring one second half touchdown. Credit that to a defense that was willing and able to make Patrick Mahomes look mortal in the clutch … again.

For the second straight game against Cincinnati, the former MVP disappeared after halftime. The Bengals revamped passing defense forced him into sacks that were the result of coverage rather than well-timed blitzes. Mahomes had -1 net passing yard through the first 20 minutes of the second half. Jessie Bates made a case for a bank-breaking contract this offseason with perfect over-the-top coverage on Tyreek Hill in what could have been a game-breaking play.

If that group can hold up against the Chiefs’ offense, it has the chops to stand up to anyone. You can’t say that about the offensive line, who’ll only stare down a tougher assignment no matter who wins the NFC.

Both the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers boast powerful four-man pass rushes and each finished ranked in the top five when it came to total sacks this year. Either will dissect the Cincinnati offensive line in film study and salivate over the kind of mismatches they can create for either Aaron Donald or Nick Bosa.

Taylor will counter with another lineup of quick-hit passes in hopes of moving the chains and establishing space downfield. But just because it worked against the Chiefs and their 23rd-ranked passing defense doesn’t mean it’s sustainable in Super Bowl 56. If the Bengals want to power Joe Burrow up to shine the brightest in the biggest game of the year, they’re gonna have to find a way to keep him protected.

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