‘Blood in the Water’ – Bengals Search for Ways To Slow Defenses Attacking Joe Burrow’s Immobility

Of all the plays that went nowhere, backward, or haywire for the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, it was actually one that resulted in a first down that foretold what was in store for them against the Tennessee Titans.

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Opposing Teams Targeting Joe Burrow’s Limitations

On 2nd-and-1 from the Cincinnati 34-yard line on the second play of the game, quarterback Joe Burrow felt the pressure closing in and stepped up in the pocket and took off running, a rare sight since he tweaked his calf injury in Week 2.

But rather than getting as much as he could, Burrow got the one yard needed and slid.

Opponents are well aware of what Burrow is dealing with, but when he passes on a chance to get extra yards so early in the game, there are alarm bells.

“It’s widely known at this point that he’s, he’s not 100%, so it’s like there’s blood in the water a little bit when you see that,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “And that’s just what we’re dealing with.”

The Titans didn’t blitz Burrow once on that game-opening, 11-play drive that ended with a field goal and the Bengals’ only points of the game in a 27-3 loss.

After that drive, Tennessee blitzed Burrow on 32% of his dropbacks.

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The NFL discovered in 2021 that blitzing Burrow was asking for trouble. Since the start of ’22, there have been only two games where Burrow saw blitzes more frequently than he did through the final three quarters on Sunday.

One of them was Week 11 last season when the Pittsburgh Steelers came after him on 46% of the dropbacks, only to have Burrow throw for 355 yards and four touchdowns. The other time was the season opener this year when the Cleveland Browns banked on the calf limiting him and brought pressure 39% of the time.

Callahan talked about the challenge of adjusting to the limits his quarterback is dealing with and the changing ways teams are attacking the Bengals.

“You don’t just roll out a whole new style of offense,” he said. “It’s a process. There are things that we have that we work on over the course of time that come up in games. We may have been working on it for two or three weeks as you try to get something nailed down that might be new.

“It’s really difficult to just say, ‘Here’s this new thing, let’s go do it,’” Callahan continued. “When you add, you have to work, you have to practice it, you have to let things cook a little bit, and then when you have a chance to really feel good about the repetitions in practice, then you feel you can run it in a game. So that’s sort of the process every week, regardless of whether we were 3-1 or 1-3 or whether we were playing great on offense or we weren’t.”

Moving around inside the pocket as well as taking off and running have been huge parts of Burrow’s success, especially on third downs and in the red zone.

Burrow said he felt really good at practice today and is optimistic that he will have more mobility when the Bengals face a must-win situation Sunday at Arizona.

Joe Burrow doesn’t hestitate at all to answer the must-win question. pic.twitter.com/hsUYz2N5Ly

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) October 4, 2023

“A big part of my game in the past has been stealing first downs with my legs here and there, depending on the situation, depending on the defense,” he said. “I haven’t been able to do that, so I’ve got to find more ways to get those conversions where maybe I used my legs in the past.”

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But through four weeks, working with an immobile quarterback has become the team’s reality.

“It’s funny when you’re watching other games, it’s like all you can see is the quarterbacks running. Like that’s all you see,” Callahan said. “You can play on time, you can play with great accuracy, but there always comes a moment in a game where that’s part of playing quarterback, and the really good ones like Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, that’s part of their game. And that’s really been part of Joe’s game, too.

“And when you look at third down, we’ve struggled on third down,” he continued. “Well, a lot of times you’ve got guys running for two or three of those a game, and it certainly makes your third-down percentage look a lot better because they make a play with their legs. And so that’s an element that we have missed. There’s no hiding that or sugarcoating it. We all see it.”

Burrow was not listed on the team’s injury report today for the first time this season, although he may be without wide receiver Tee Higgins on Sunday.

Orlando Brown Jr. a new addition to the #Bengals injury report with a groin injury that had him limited today.

Joe Burrow not listed on the report for the first time all year, so obviously he was a full participant today. pic.twitter.com/Eh3yXXb6Hr

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) October 4, 2023

One way to slow down the blood-smelling sharks Callahan referenced would be to have Burrow run a naked bootleg or take off on a scramble of more than a yard or in some other way show that his calf is not bothering him as much early in the game.

“I’m looking forward to that day,” Callahan quipped.

“I’m optimistic I’ll be able to do those things on Sunday,” Burrow said.

Until he’s able to do it rather than talk about it, the defenses are going to attack and try to capitalize on what he can’t do rather than fear what he might do.

Callahan and head coach Zac Taylor have said they will alter the way they call plays to the extent that they can to help offset some of the pressure.

But the only way to stop it is to beat it.

“The NFL has always been and always will continue to be if you show a problem, people will attack it till you fix it,” Callahan said. “If you can’t handle the blitz, they will blitz you until you show you can handle it. If you can’t separate versus press coverage. Then you’re gonna get press coverage until you beat it. And that’s just the way it is. And that’s where we’re at.”