The Cincinnati Bengals' perennial slow start has become a glaring issue, forcing them to burrow out of early-season holes. In the past two years, they've failed, finishing 9-8 and missing the postseason in back-to-back campaigns.
In six seasons under Zac Taylor, the Bengals have gone 1-11 in the first two weeks of the season and 4-13-1 through three weeks. The only year in which Cincy had a winning record through three weeks, 2021, they went to the Super Bowl.
"It sounds like we need to play in the preseason, huh?" receiver Ja'Marr Chase said on Tuesday, via the Associated Press.
The Bengals have traditionally not played their key players much in the preseason under Taylor. It's something that he's admitted could change as Cincinnati attempts to avoid a seventh consecutive slow start.
"The one thing I do feel good about is playing our guys in the preseason," Taylor said last week, via ESPN. "That's always subject to change, depending on health and how things go with our team during training camp, but that's one thing that we've openly talked about with our players, and I think will help us as we do it."
The preseason is a delicate balance of getting stars reps while avoiding injuries that could completely crater a season. How many snaps for the likes of Joe Burrow, Chase and Tee Higgins are enough to jumpstart their chemistry heading into the season? There is no correct answer, but Taylor seems ready to make it a non-zero figure.
The other side of things for Cincy has been lingering contract issues that have led to missed training camp time. Last year, Chase was embroiled in a contract dispute that led him to sit out workouts. He admitted it played into his own slow start.
"I could say I wasn't mentally ready to be on the field," Chase said on Tuesday. "I was in my own head. You know what I'm saying? I wanted to play, but I was in my own head."
The offense has no such contract issues, and with Burrow healthy for the second consecutive year, there should be no hiccups on that end, barring injury. However, the Trey Hendrickson situation on defense lingers and has shown no signs of a swift resolution before training camp.
The Bengals open the 2025 season against the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars.
