‘Fuming’ Cincinnati Bengals OC Brian Callahan Offers Blunt Take on Struggling Offense

Win or lose, shootout or slog, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan always has a cheery, optimistic disposition when talking to reporters a day or two after a game.

Today was different.

“I’m pretty salty, if you can’t tell,” Callahan said.

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What Is Wrong With the Cincinnati Bengals Offense?

His surly mood began Sunday night after the 17-13 win against the Seahawks, and it continued through the offensive team meeting and then rolled on into his afternoon media session.

“I was on my couch last night, watching it on my iPad, just fuming,” he said. “We have too many good coaches, too many good players to not play to our standard that we have set for ourselves. That was addressed. Everybody had their moment in the barrel today.”

Aside from wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, no one has played especially well. Not just Sunday but through six weeks.

#Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase is the first player in #NFL history to record multiple games of at least 10 receptions, 150 receiving yards and 3 receiving TDs in his first 3 career seasons. 🔥

He also became the fourth player under 24 with 15 receptions in a single game. pic.twitter.com/CIig2MuM55

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 12, 2023

The Bengals rank 27th in points per game, which at 16.7 is nearly three points shy of the 19.7 they averaged in Joe Burrow’s rookie season of 2020 when they finished 4-11-1. They are 26th in expected points added (-7.50) per game, 27th in yards per play (4.1), and dead last in rushing yards per game (69.8) and total yards per game (256.3).

“I don’t like to be last in anything,” Callahan said. “We’re not producing enough, we’re not scoring enough, and you can really cut it by any metric you want to cut it. We’re just not playing a good enough brand of football that we’ve been accustomed to playing at this point.”

The Las Vegas Raiders have the No. 31-ranked offense and are averaging nearly 40 more yards per game than the Bengals.

When it comes to pinpointing the reason, Callahan said it’s simple. It’s everything.

MORE: NFL Offense Rankings 2023

“There’s various reasons. Some of it is we miss some throws. We’ve dropped some balls, we’ve given up some sacks. Everyone’s had a moment. We just need overall better consistency to allow us to score more points.”

Obviously, the biggest factor in everything that has happened, or not happened as the case may be, has been Burrow’s calf injury. But that doesn’t explain Sunday.

Burrow has looked more like himself the last two weeks, moving around in the pocket and taking off running from it.

“It sure feels like if he’s not normal, he’s pretty close,” Callahan said.

Yet, with Burrow close to 100 percent, Tee Higgins back in the lineup after missing a game with a rib injury, and Chase doing Chase things, the Bengals still only managed 214 yards Sunday and 4.0 yards per play.

Three of their four lowest-yardage games since the start of 2021 have come this year (142 in the opener at Cleveland, 211 in Week 4 at Tennessee, and 214 on Sunday). The only thing keeping it from being a bottom-three 2023 sweep is the 182-yard performance in the 2021 season finale when they rested all of their starters.

“We’re as talented as anybody in football,” Callahan said. “Talent’s never gonna be the answer in the NFL. Everyone’s got it. Everyone’s got a salary cap. Everyone pays players. There’s some teams that are not as good as others when you look at their construction in their roster; that’s just how it goes.

“But if you walk out and just think that your roster’s gonna beat somebody and not your execution and the attention to detail and all the things that matter, you’re gonna get beat, and people are gonna beat you by a lot. You get humbled pretty quickly if you think that’s how it’s gonna work.”

Callahan made it clear his players do not think that way, but the point remains: talent alone doesn’t equal victories.

Head coach Zac Taylor gave the players the rest of the week off, canceling Tuesday’s walkthrough. The coaches will go through their standard self-scouting procedures while contemplating scheme and personnel changes.

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

One change Callahan mentioned was going back under center more, which would be a departure from the offensive change the team made last year at this time when it went almost exclusively to the shotgun.

They were considering going back to more under-center looks three months ago before Burrow suffered the calf injury, derailing that idea.

“We’ve done a little bit more as just Joe’s gotten healthier, and that’s a part of it,” he said. “I’m not gonna say we’re gonna sell out, and all of a sudden, you’re gonna see us under center every play.

“But there’s an element of the offense that does run through the under-center part of it. Some of the run-game schemes are better. Some of the play-action is better. That’s part of the evolution of all of it. That’s something that we can hopefully do more of.”

The bottom line, Callahan said, is the offense has to be better, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to get there.

“Our standard is high, and it should be because we’re capable of being really good. And thus far, we haven’t been. And there’s been a lot of reasons for that. Ultimately, nobody cares (why). Nobody cares. We have to be better than we’ve been, and I think we will be. But sometimes, there’s a time and a place to tell the truth. And that’s the truth at this point.”