4 things we learned from the Bengals’ thrilling win over Saints

How fitting that Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase get back on track in the place where they had one of the most impressive offensive performances in college football history?

To make things more interesting, they did it by rediscovering their roots schematically, as head coach Zac Taylor finally gave his quarterback the opportunity to operate exclusively out of the formation that makes him most comfortable.

Yes, it was a close game, but there were some indications of big developments on the horizon. So let’s get right into what we learned...

This offense will operate out of shotgun

Against the Saints, the Bengals went almost exclusively with shotgun formations.

The result? Burrow had his best game of the year. Chase finally broke free. And the team had its highest point total of the year. While we probably will see a few more plays under center, it seems that Taylor and the offensive minds on his staff have figured something out.

As John Sheeran said on our most recent show, this was the closest to the offense of Burrow’s LSU career that we’ve seen yet. And instead of asking the third-year QB to be “multiple kinds of quarterback,” the Bengals’ coaching staff allowed him to operate comfortably.

Perhaps even more importantly, Taylor finally let go of the idea of forcing a marriage between a wide-zone, under center running game with a spread, shotgun passing offense. “That was making it really predictable for defenses, who could put a safety in the box when Burrow was under center,” Sheeran said.

Of course, it’s easy to understand why this happened. Taylor, offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, and offensive line coach Frank Pollack all come from wide zone backgrounds. Meanwhile, they wanted to take what worked from Burrow’s record-setting senior year at LSU.

But simplifying the offense in a way has also made it more complex from the perspective of opponents. “When you are dedicated to just one identity, like they are now, it makes you less predictable, allows you to make calls at the line, and confuse defenses by staying in the same personnel.”

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The Bengals can’t stop the run without D.J. Reader

We all knew there would be a dropoff without the best nosetackle in the game. But we weren’t prepared for a drop as precipitous as this.

In New Orleans, the Bengals allowed 228 yards on the ground on only 34 carries, meaning they gave up 6.7 yards per carry. And that’s part of a recent trend.

Now Cincinnati will host the Atlanta Falcons, who have surprised folks by starting 3-3 behind a strong running game averaging almost five yards a carry. Fortunately, the pass defense is still strong and held former Bengal Andy Dalton to just 162 yards passing a week after holding Lamar Jackson to just 174 yards through the air. But if they can’t find a big body to plug the middle, the Bengals will continue to need late game heroics to win games, as they won’t be able to control the clock.

La’el Collins hasn’t declined

He just needed some time. Collins has had some lingering injuries in recent years, but his performance against Cam Jordan and the Saints’ defensive line showed that, talent-wise, he’s still near the top of his position.

On numerous occasions, we saw Collins win against Jordan and even put him in the dirt once.

We also saw him take Tanoh Kpassagnon for a ride.

Not only do these clips show Collins’ physical dominance, but, as Sheeran noted in the video above, they demonstrate that his footwork is now more patient and confident. So, like Burrow, it seems Collins was just off to a slow start and will start dominating consistently soon.

The pass rush is really coming around

We all know what Trey Hendrickson can do, and, unfortunately, it doesn’t always show up in the simple box scores.

But now we’re starting to see other guys emerging, like Joseph Ossai.

And B.J. Hill and Sam Hubbard, neither of whom are considered pass rush specialists, got to Dalton on the most important third down of the game.

So while the run defense will suffer with Reader out, the Bengals should still be able to win shootouts with timely plays by the secondary and getting pressure when they need it late in the game.