Where the Bengals stand in NFL Week 7 Power Rankings

The Cincinnati Bengals took a deficit into the half against the New Orleans Saints in Joe Burrow’s return to Louisiana, but they were able to pull it out in the end, winning their third game of the season 30-26.

Cincinnati is now 3-3 and tied with the Ravens for the top spot in the AFC North. Thankfully, the Steelers and Browns have both struggled this season as well, so the Bengals are still in contention in the AFC North after a rather lackluster start.

With 4 touchdowns in total from Joe Burrow and 30 points by the offense, the Bengals will enter Week 7 against the Falcons surging. They are near-touchdown favorites at home in Week 7.

That said, let’s dive into how they compared to other teams in the league.

NFL.com — No. 5 - Up from No. 9

Sunday’s 30-26 win over the Saints was one of those games where you think to yourself, Man, this Joe Burrow dude is special. The third-year quarterback tallied 300 yards through the air and improvised brilliantly on the scramble in a successful Superdome homecoming for the LSU legend. Speaking of LSU, Burrow made magic with former Tigers teammate Ja’Marr Chase (7/132/2), who put the Bengals ahead for good via a 60-yard catch-and-run score with two minutes to play. Chase had been bottled up for much of the season until the second half on Sunday. Burrow and Chase are fixin’ to go on a rampage.

The Ringer— No. 7 - Up from No. 9

Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have to play hero ball every week for the Bengals to move the ball offensively. The early-down offense ranks 29th in EPA per play (-0.10) and 30th in first-down conversion percentage (15.3). Among the 28 running backs in the league with at least 60 carries this season, Joe Mixon ranks last in yards after contact per attempt (2.06), and the offense as a whole ranks 29th in EPA per rush (-0.15). There are many places to point the finger: At the offensive line; at conservative play caller Zac Taylor; at Mixon; hell, even at Burrow when he holds the ball too long and takes bad sacks. All of it is leading to an offense highly dependent on unsustainable third- and fourth-down efficiency. Burrow ranks fifth in EPA per dropback on third and fourth downs (0.31), and Chase shares the league lead in first-down receptions on such downs (11), but the early-down offense simply has to get better to avoid collapsing under regression in future weeks.

Fox Sports — No. 6

That looked more like the blueprint for Bengals success we got so used to last season. Joe Burrow bought himself time with his feet, even rushing for a touchdown, and found his big-time receivers for explosive plays. Cincinnati’s defense wasn’t amazing, but forcing four red-zone field goals made the difference in the game.

Yahoo! Sports — No. 14 - Up from No. 5

We have yet to see the best version of the Bengals, but they’re staying in the race as they figure things out. On Sunday, Ja’Marr Chase carried them, breaking a huge 60-yard touchdown late after they hadn’t led the entire game. They’ll have to get better but it’s easier when the entire league seems to be 3-3.

ESPN — No. 13 - Up from No. 14

An improved offensive line didn’t immediately produce a better offense. Despite overhauling 80% of the starting five in the offseason, and with blocking rates slightly better, the Bengals still languished in several key metrics. One could attribute that to several factors, including QB Joe Burrow’s emergency appendectomy before the start of the season. Cincinnati is still in the middle of the pack in expected yards per play, but a 30-26 win over the New Orleans Saints hinted that the unit could be trending upward.. — Ben Baby

CBS Sports — No. 10 - Up from No. 16

At 3-3, they have played four games on the road. Now the schedule softens some in the next month. The offense came alive against the Saints.

Sporting News — No. 14 - Up from No. 11

The Bengals are facing more challenges with their offense this season, but Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Mixon were bound to work them out of it. Their defense is getting pushed around more, but the big plays will come there once the offense consistently starts faster.