CINCINNATI — After falling one spot short of the playoffs this season, the Cincinnati Bengals have several reasons to believe they can return to the postseason in 2024, and a healthy Joe Burrow at quarterback is at the top of the list.
But where the Bengals finished in a couple of key statistical categories could play a significant role as well.
Ask any coach whose team will be playing Super Wild Card Weekend what the key to advancing is going to be, and almost every one of them will start with playing disciplined and taking care of the football.
And after the games are finished, the six coaches whose team saw their season come to an end almost certainly will again point to turnovers and/or penalties as the reason for it.
Bengals Among League’s Best in Penalties, Turnovers
Nobody was better at combining those two aspects of the game in 2023 than the Bengals. And when it comes specifically to avoiding penalties, nobody has been better for a long time.
The Bengals drew the second-fewest penalties this season with 76, one shy of the Las Vegas Raiders’ league-best 75. The Jacksonville Jaguars were a distant third with 83.
And Cincinnati’s 614 penalty yards were the fewest in the league, marking the second time in three years Zac Taylor’s squad has achieved that, and the fourth time in five years they’ve ranked in the top five.
“The penalties are something that’s sometimes out of your control, but there are a lot of things you can control, and our guys do that,” Taylor said. “With some of the procedural stuff, we take a lot of pride in how we control that.”
Handing out our #Bengals End of Season Awards.
MVP
LVP
Best Play
Worst Play
Best Game
Biggest Disappointment
And a bunch more:https://t.co/wTVmrZs2Yr— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) January 11, 2024
Even in the dismal 2-14 campaign in Taylor’s first season in 2019, the Bengals ranked among the league’s best in avoiding yellow flags.
It’s been a constant of the Taylor era.
Here is where the Bengals have ranked in fewest penalties and penalty yards in the last five seasons.
- 2019: 5th, 3rd
- 2020: 9th, 9th
- 2021: 2nd, 1st
- 2022*: 6th, 5th
- 2023: 2nd, 1st
Per-game numbers were used for the 2022 rankings rather than cumulative ones, given that the Bengals and Bills played one fewer game.
Looking at the five-year window of Taylor’s career as a whole, the Bengals lead the league in fewest penalties per game (4.9) and fewest penalty yards per game (40.2).
In last year’s playoffs, teams that committed fewer penalties than their opponents were 10-3.
MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart
In 2021, the record was 7-2 (there were four games where each team had the same number of penalties).
And when it comes to turnovers, the advantage is even more profound. Teams that won the turnover margin in 2023 were 162-56.
In 2022, they were 159-48-1.
And the records are similar in whatever season or era you want to view, especially in the postseason.
The Bengals haven’t been as good year after year in terms of ball security in the Taylor era, but they have improved each season.
And they were elite in 2023, finishing with just 16 giveaways. That tied the franchise record for fewest in a season with the 1982 team, which only played nine games.
The 16 turnovers in 2023 were tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for second fewest. The Houston Texans led the way with 14.
Committing just 16 turnovers in a 17-game season would be impressive with the starting quarterback playing every game. The Bengals did it with a backup quarterback starting seven games.
In 2022, the Bengals ranked tied for fourth with 1.1 giveaways per game (18 for the season).
But they were 12th in 2021, 24th in 2020, and tied for 27th in 2019.
“The ball security stuff is something we spend a lot of time and effort preaching and working on,” Taylor said. “It’s significant in terms of wins and losses. It gives you a chance to be in the hunt and do all the things we want to do.”
There are obvious holes that need to be fixed and scheme adjustments that need to be made, but coming off a season as one of the best teams in the league in terms of discipline and ball security gives the Bengals a good baseline in their preparations for 2024.
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