Until the last couple of weeks, nothing has gone right for the Cincinnati Bengals since quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a toe injury. With Jake Browning at the helm, it really looked like everyone in the entire organization should just be fired and the season should be cancelled.
But, two weeks ago the Bengals traded for Joe Flacco and things have changed. They have looked like an NFL team again and have even – gasp! – managed to win a football game. One of the bigger disappointments in all of this has been running back Chase Brown, who hadn’t rushed for more than 47 yards in a single game all year and has only managed one touchdown.
The Bengals don’t care about your fantasy football team, but you sure as heck do. In last Thursday night’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, however, Brown got it going to the tune of 108 yards on just 11 carries.
With the lead, Chase Brown was able to get into a rhythm
In fairness to Brown, it’s tough to get going on the ground when you’re constantly getting pounded on the scoreboard. When you’re losing games like 48-10 and 28-3, you probably won’t control much on the ground.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said that the running game was finally able to get into a rhythm against the Steelers.
“We found a rhythm. We played with the lead for the first time in forever at halftime,” Taylor said Monday. “I don’t know when the last time we had a halftime lead was, Cleveland. That has everything to do with it. So it wasn’t just a great game in terms of breakout, it was none of that. It was just, we finally were playing with a lead and get a chance to be patient with the entirety of your offense and stuff like that can happen.”
Brown is still having a miserable season overall. Through seven games, he has 310 yards and a touchdown with a paltry 3.6 yards per carry.
Chase Brown helping Bengals offense overall
It’s all well and good to have all-world wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but while they are dominant, it can make you extremely one dimensional. In order to maximize their effectiveness it really helps to have a competent running game.
Until Thursday night, they didn’t have anything close to it. Taylor says Brown’s success helped to set up the rest of the offense.
“You got a chance to get some first downs. You get a chance to call everything that’s on your call sheet and find a rhythm and gain some confidence as a group on offense,” Taylor said. “And then you get to keep them off guard as best you can with a bunch of different looks.”
Last season, Brown wasn’t a full-time starter for the Bengals and ended up with 990 yards and seven touchdown carries while averaging a healthy 4.3 yards per carry. With Flacco running the show, he has a much better chance of getting back to those numbers and even surpassing them. They are still just two games behind the division-leading Steelers and an improved running game could land them in the discussion of a playoff berth.
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