Cincinnati Bengals 2024 Season Breakdown!

Intro what's going on everybody welcome back to another page of the Playbook this is Nate bringing to you guys another AFC North indepth dive today we're going to be talking about the Cincinnati Bengals and what we can look forward to in this 2024 NFL season before we get into today's video guys I just want to give a special shout out to today's sponsors starting with gold finding bows lawyers for the injured personal injury workers compensation those are their two things but any sort of legal advice they're the people to call give them a phone call 309 673 5144 tell them we sent you okay and I'd also like to shout out SeatGeek for sponsoring today's video as well use promo code Playbook Sports on their website to get $20 off your first purchase of $30 or more let's get back to the video so before we get going here Bengals in 2023 let's talk 2023 Just a Touch obviously kind of a lost year for the Bengals which was so disappointing because you going into that year you're like you know this is the year right you've got T Higgins you've got chase you got burrow you've got Mixon you've got Tyler boydd all these guys are still here they're all under cont contract were good to go and it just fell apart right obviously we had the injury to Joe burrow that was huge and Jake Browning looked goodish for a backup QB right but he that's not who you want out there that's not Joe burrow let's not kid ourselves and now going into this year no Tyler Boyd no Joe Mixon both gone so they're I mean just the fact that they have burrow back healthy along with Jamar Chase and T Higgins has this team kind of predicted anywhere from 10 to 12 wins I would say and they're going to be right in the thick of the race for the AFC but did they do enough to the roster to improve it and keep up with the AFC North if you guys have seen my recent videos Pittsburgh and Cleveland I think both of them are going to be very very tough outs they're going to be solid teams AFC North is still absolutely stacked top to bottom there's not one pick on us team you know they don't have a New England Patriots right they don't have some crappy team that just is going to get pumped every time they play them so I've got some concerns about the Bengals let's talk about them but before we get going if you guys like today's video make sure that you like the video you have no idea how much it helps the video get pushed out to more and more people make sure you comment down below what you think let's get into this I'm G to Coaching start at coaching like I always do I think Zack Taylor's done a really solid job as the head coach of this football team and he's going into his six season in this role and when you look at you know his background being on the offensive side of the ball that's what I'm going to look at when I evaluate him as a head coach because that's sort of his thing he calls the plays um last year with a hobbled Jamar chase a backup quarterback and Jake Browning still had the offense performing well he had Joe Mixon performing well even though he is not in his prime anymore he still had the boys humming and I think that I I have to give him some props and some credit for that because when you get an offense rolling that just lost their consensus top five QB and still post a winning record in those games that he missed nothing to dismiss there yes they did lose offensive coordinator Brian Callahan who's the new head coach in Tennessee but I mean Zack Taylor was calling the plays in Cincinnati nothing changes here so how much really did Callahan have you know a hand in that I know Callahan was a really is a really good coach and Tennessee should be happy to have him but Zack Taylor was calling the place so it's not like losing Callahan is going to make this team fall apart offensively heavy through the air pass heavy approach and they still have all the great weapons so I like their offense moving forward and defensively lumo back for his six season in Cincinnati as well as Zack Taylor he's been there with him from the beginning coming off of honestly I think a pretty impressive year defensively runs a 4-3 based defense relies on edge rushers getting home and Edge uh outside linebackers that are more so coverage guys so you know base 43 this kind of a scheme works well for the Bengals especially when you consider the fact that they've got you know someone like Trey Hendrickson who racked up 17 and a half sacks last year now I know he's got the contract issu so we'll see how much plays into that but they've got the edge rushers throw this defense and they also rely on their linebackers to tackle and be Playmakers in the open field the dline eats up all the blocks you've got three linebackers that have to make plays and they did last year if you think about it linebacker Logan Wilson 135 tackles four interceptions he's covering tight ends he's making plays in The Run game that is the perfect kind of middle linebacker and just linebacker in general for this sort of Defense I think he's a perfect in that role anarumo has been very solid in Cincinnati the last six years and I'm a big fan of consistency I cannot say it enough when you are able to keep the same coaching staff that's huge that's absolutely huge I like the coaching here again another really strong coaching group in the AFC North with not a whole lot of change because why would you all right let's Depth Chart look at the Cincinnati Bengals depth chart QB obviously it's Joe burrow Browning showed himself to be a good backup QB if needed hopefully he's not needed Joe burrow is the guy here let's just call it what it is I mean he's a top five quarterback in the league he getting paid like one he's going to be great this QB room is still a top five QB room in the NFL because Joe Burrow's in it okay so we can move on from there running back Joe Mixon out Zack moss in and once again Chase Brown will be the backup I think this is a step back in the RB room Moss is younger 26 years old but he's never rushed for over 800 yards in a single season and only once in his 5-year career has he even had 200 total touches and that was last year 210 can he be a lead back can be he be your doit all RB who catches 50 60 passes out of the back field picks up 220 250 carries I'm not so sure and then you're relying even more on Chase Brown and Chase Brown has showed some and some stints but he's not the guy either I just think this was kind of a step back Joe Mixon I think still has juice I I hate to see him go wide receiver room you got the two top guys you got Jamar chase you got T Higgins one of if not the best duo of wide receivers on the same team in the entire NFL that's plenty for this room to be excellent uh it is it does stink to lose one of the best number three receivers in the NFL and Tyler Boyd but they couldn't afford to keep this room together forever and eventually you're going to start losing pieces that's just how the NFL works when you have so much talent people are going to leave so Tyler Boyd leaving and following Callahan to Tennesse see it stinks and this might be the last year for T Higgins also since he's on the franchise tag and he's going to get paid and he hasn't gotten a long-term deal yet from Cincinnati and it's unlikely to get one in my opinion so they've got to run it this year I do like their third round pick dermaine Burton out of Alabama I think upside for him is a number two receiver he could be the T Higgins receiver next year if T Higgins walks good separator good speed solid hands able to run routes at all three levels just doesn't really have Elite size for the position but he's a very solid receiver out of Alabama I like him I like that guy to fill in if needed and then obviously you've got Jamar Chase so you've got a Bonafide Alpha tight end position you've got Mike giki listed as the starter uh this position group does not get me excited at all Mike aiki telegraphs I mean he can't block so if Mike Kiki's on the field it's like a 90% chance of a pass play 90% chance they're passing so you can pass Comm in I thought Eric all was an all right pick for the future but again giki's listed as a starter I think he just telegraphs you offense way too much he did it in Miami he did it in New England he's going to do it in Cincinnati all right let's talk about this offensive line Bengals fans this is the group to watch it is not an overstatement to say that the entire season relies on this group the Bengals can go 12- five and they can go 6 and 11 if this group doesn't do their job quarterbacks are only as good as their protection if he's not protected an offense cannot be efficient and they're going to get him hurt they're going to get Joe bur hurt he's been hurt multiple times in his career already their tackles are solid in or obviously I think Orlando Brown Jr is a very very good offensive tackle Trent Brown kind of on the back side of his career here he's been okay hasn't been special he was better a while ago for New England he was solid but he's really fallen off in recent years and I do love me some Marius Mims one of the few picks I mocked correctly in this up last draft I honestly think that he has all pro UPS side as an offensive tackle I think he could be an all pro level offensive tackle in the NFL in time he's only played what eight games at Georgia I think he needs to get on the field so the problem with Cincinnati's offensive line isn't a tackle position they've got two starting tackles and an insanely High upside backup tackle in amarius Mims the problem is the interior and the issue here is they don't have a tackle who can Moonlight as a guard am Marius Mims Trent Brown Orlando Brown Jr none of them can play guard I wouldn't put a single one of them at guard they aren't the right size they aren't the right movement they're it's just not right it's if you know football you know you cannot put somebody that size in it guard it just isn't correct and especially when they've all played tackle their whole career so trying to kick them into guard isn't going to work for them so their three most talented offensive linemen in the entire group and I don't think that's saying a whole lot because at this stage in his career I'm not a huge fan of Trent Brown personally the interior of the offensive line is super concerning I mean look at the depth chart there's not Ted Carris is your starting center I just don't love it I I just don't love the interior of this offensive line and that's where you're going to have problems because you're going to come up against good defensive tackles especially in the AFC North who can push the pocket from the inside and then you've got guys in Burrow's lap I mean I've seen training camp footage already of three defensive lineman getting through the offensive line of the Bengals just like that that is a problem Bengals fans it is a real problem if you cannot protect Joe burrow it doesn't matter how good your weapons are I mean we can go back to that Meme picture from the draft when everyone was asking to Ang Les to draft pan Su and it's Joe burrow untouched with Su blocking form and a receiver he's hitting downfield or Jamar Chase open downfield and Joe bur brings sack can't throw the ball obviously Jamar Chase was a fantastic pick and they've settled their tackle position but we got to focus on the interior here and I think that is a serious issue and is honestly going to be the whole season if this offensive line can hold up and put it together this year defensively they really brought back much of the same group as well as a couple of okay additions they did really work to beef up their defensive front particularly at defensive tackle biggest contract they gave out this free agency period was to Sheldon rankins defensive tackle out of Houston really good run Defender and I think he's a solid vet presence for second round pick Chris Jenkins JR out of Michigan and I think this year Jenkins is a fantastic rotational defensive tackle while with potential to grow into a nice starter for them I like the addition of Gino Smith on the back end on a cheaper two-year deal you could tell the Bengals were missing Jessie Bates at times last year and Dax Hill looked good solid safety but I think goino Stone kind of helps Shore up that room and gives you two guys who can really go so I like those moves again not a ton of change on the defensive side of the ball here not a lot out not a lot in just kind of retooling just a little bit so that's the depth chart for the Bengals obviously the whole season comes down to the offensive line position that's what I think so let's Schedule talk about their schedule let's get into their 17 game schedule and predict every single game for the Cincinnati Bengals this year and again I'm not predicting injuries so in this scenario the Bengals starting five offensive line don't lose anybody now is that how it's going to work in real life absolutely not that's just not the way this goes but I'm not going to predict games and be like oh they're going to miss Orlando Brown Jr for this game and am Marius Mims will have to start I'm not doing that why would I do that so week one they get a layup they get to host the New England Patriots I think this is probably the easiest win of the Season although I could see this is a trap game just you look at the two rosters right it's very clearly very clear to anybody that the Bengals are a better roster top to bottom I can't think of one position group where I'm like you know the Patriots might be better I can't there's not one it is it is geran Mayo's debut as a head coach it's Bengals aren't exactly going to know what the defense is throwing at him or even really what the offense is throwing at him but at the end of the day doesn't matter how much what the New England scheme is when jacobe brette is throwing the ball to Kendrick Bourne and running it with ra Andre Stevenson who was not very efficient or good last year at all no Patriots should not really scare anybody in my opinion this year I thought they were going to be bad last year and they were Bengals maybe they start slowing in this one but ultimately they're going to get the win here one and0 week two they go to Kansas City and I I these are two of the best teams in the NFL duking out in week two here in Kansas City they've become Rivals because of that and honestly Bengals and Joe burrow have played the Chiefs exceptionally well burrow three and one against the Chiefs when you include the playoff games and their one loss was the AFC Championship game in arrowead and Joe Brook lights him up to the tune of 300 yards a game nine touchdowns and three picks he just crushes it against the Chiefs and the Chiefs don't start the season fast they don't they didn't last year they've always come out of the gates a little bit slow they're like the anti Buffalo Bills Who come out of the gates red hot best team in the NFL September Super Bowl champs and then they fizzle the Chiefs come out real slow and we're questioning them oh this Chiefs team not as good not as good and then they decide you know we should probably start trying for the second half they win nine of 10 games and they go to the Super Bowl it's just what they do so early in the year and the Bengals with having their number and you know they want to get it back to being burough and not Arrowhead uh give me the Bengals to move to 2-0 on the season here week three Bengals travel back home to take on the Washington commanders and easy victory for the Bengals here I just I struggle when I look at the Washington Commander schedule I struggle to point out games and be like they're going to win that one they'll win this one like I struggle with that I think they're going to be underdogs 16 out of 17 games they might be favored at home against the Giants but I think we're going to struggle to see them do a whole lot week Carolina four another kind of kind of gimme here Bengals fans Bengals travel to Carol Carolina to take on the Carolina Panthers and Carolina is just not there they don't have the defense to slow down the Bengals offense can Carolina's offense be a little more fun and exciting this year than last year absolutely absolutely Panthers fans I think that they could be a fun team to watch but not defensively and it's going to be fourth week of the season now so teams are going to have a little bit more film on Matt Canales or Dave Canal's you know Playbook and what he runs I think Bengals win this one pretty handily here and move to 40 to start the year week five against Baltimore at home in Cincinnati this is a team that burough struggles against outside of 2021 where in the two games against the Ravens he threw for nearly a thous yards and seven touchdowns outside of that he's only beaten the Ravens one other time and he's lost four so outside of one year where he was literally Unstoppable against them apparently he's one and four and in those four losses he never threw for more than 222 yards that was the most he threw in any of those games Ravens defense can cause some problems for that offensive line too Justin matab on the Interiors a real problem they've got the guys to R really give the Bengals trouble this year so I'm going with the Ravens to get the win in Cincinnati here dropping the Bengals to 4- one week six at New York against the Giants guys the Giants are not a very good football team not a very good offense that's run by Daniel Jones who's not a very good quarterback but I think the Giants win this football game Bengals fans that have now clicked off the video I'm sorry if you haven't clicked off the video Bengals fans hear me out Giants are not great but you know what is good for the New York Giants if they have one thing to hang their hat on it's their defensive line it's Dexter Lawrence it's Brian Burns it's Kavon Tibido they've got pieces on the interior they have the guys to cause problems for Cincinnati's offense all of a sudden they're rushing for and getting home and you're throwing it into heavy defensive backs and you're just having some trouble I think this is the game where we question whether or not the Bengals are truly you know an alpha team in the AFC as they don't get the Run going they don't get the pass game going against the Giants who are able to just send like this may be an ugly low-scoring game where I think both offensives really struggle to score and it's on the MetLife Turf which is awful and players hate it and everyone hates it so you just hope for health when you go play the Giants and the Jets on their field because that's the biggest concern but I'm going to give the Giants an upset Victory here against the Bengals and drop the Bengals to four and two week seven at Cleveland at Cleveland against that defense man tough spot coming off back-to-back losses and Bengals fans I'm sorry but I think they lose again here Cleveland is is a hard place to play and they are going to get up for this divisional match up that place is going to be rocking the dog Pand is going to be lad I think that they I like Cleveland here I think the loss of the Giants kind of plays A Part here and the Browns smell blood miles Garrett gets after it and they drop the Bengals to four and three on the year week eight against the Philadelphia Eagles Bengals fans that haven't clicked off go ahead exit out of the video now because they lose their fourth in a row here to the Eagles yes it's in Cincinnati I don't care I think the Eagles are going to be really good this year and you'll notice that's a theme in a lot of these I think the Eagles are going to be really solid and I do think the Bengals are going to struggle to move the ball you just look at the Eagles defense the Eagles defense is absolutely loaded if their offense just plays slightly better football than they did down the stretch last year I think that they win this game pretty handily their defense is so stacked especially on the defensive line good luck blocking them good luck Bengals offensive line because you're going to have trouble here so we got Bengals falling here and moving to four and four after a 4-0 start losing four straight games I'm sorry Bengals fans stick around though it gets better and it gets better in week nine because here come the Raiders to help get you right in Cincinnati also Bengals get off the losing streak with a convincing victory over the Raiders who just simply put can't put up points and can't really stop anybody either Bengals offense might struggle with you know Max Crosby and Christian Wilkins on the interior of that defensive line but the backside of their defense is not nearly talented enough to slow down Jamar Chase and T Higgins and the Bengals Des to get back in the wind column fearing that their season is slipping away from them desperately get the week n victory over the Raiders and move to five and four week 10 at Baltimore I think the Baltimore Ravens sweep the Bengals this year I'm sorry Bengals fans I know that sucks but I really do think the Ravens are the class of this Division and they bring it against the Bengals and like I said earlier burrow kind of struggles the defense of the Ravens is just going to be tough man they were so good last year and they're going to be so good again and this offense second year with Todd monin I think the Ravens are going to be a problem folks so I like the Ravens to get the win in Baltimore against the Bengals dropping the Bengals to five and five week 11 everything to play for still five and five you're still right in the thick of everything week 11 at Lac uh Justin Herbert's already hurt the Hall of Fame game just happened and Justin Herbert is already hurt with a hurt foot problem and let's just be honest with ourselves Herbert's the only chance for Success over there he's all that they have and even then their defense isn't going to be able to slow down the Bengals at all they're going to have trouble to run the ball against the Bengals defensive front Bengals get a much needed win here heading into their byy moving them to six and five week 12 a little bit of a later bye here for them I typically like it right in the middle that's just my thing I'm a big fan of a middle of season buy because they might drag a little bit and you'll kind of you know they don't exactly limp into it two and two in their last four games here but they could use the week off for sure probably a week sooner Week 1 against Pittsburgh in Cincinnati love the Bengals here in this spot at home and coming off of a buy they're rejuvenated the place is going to be pumped up for the Steelers game they'll be the fresher team and they're the more talented team just personally they will have to put some help on whatever side TJ wat is coming from I would probably not have Mike aiki try and help block but I like the Bengals to win a low-scoring slugfest of an AFC North Grudge Match at home moving them to seven and five week 14 the Bengals will Dallas travel to Dallas to take take on the Dallas Cowboys Dallas is so good at home they've got weapons to keep up in the score against Cincinnati and they have a defense that can slow them down I think Micah Parsons gets three sacks in this game I think he could be defensive player of the year spoiler alert and I think Cincinnati's going to have to drop back a ton to drop back and pass a ton to try and keep up on the scoreboard which will allow Dallas's pass rush to tee off so I got Dallas taking the win at home here moving the Bengals to seven and six and then it gets fun Bengals fans week 15 at Tennessee Revenge game for Brian Callahan I don't think so Bengals go into Tennessee and they blow them out I think this is a grade A ass whap Bengals need to get hot just to really sneak into the playoffs at this point sitting at seven and six I think they put the AFC on notice with the Demolition of the Tennessee Titans in Tennessee here moving the Bengals to eight and six week 16 against Cleveland while they got pushed around in Cleveland Cleveland's defense was not remote as good on the road as they were at home and being the home team here is huge and like I've said other previous videos as the home team in the AFC North I likey against the other AFC North teams all these teams are so so similar just so physical so inyour face AFC North football is a brutal brand of football and I typically like to go with the home team in these matchups so I got the Bengals winning this one moving to nine and six and rounding into form folks playoffs are coming week 17 at home against Denver I don't think Denver has a chance in this game I don't believe in Denver at all this year Bengals should be able to move the ball up and down and slow them down on offense as well this feels like a 2710 victory for the Bengals at least so Bengals three wins in a row here moving Pittsburgh them to 10 and six firmly in the playoffs maybe fighting for their division here but firmly in the playoff race for sure and week 18 this game might be their first playoff game this may be a winner gets in loser goes home sort of deal as they travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers with each team I think fighting for a playoff spot but the Bengals just turn it on at the end of the year when their backs are against the wall this is a game that the Bengals go into Pittsburgh and win knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers get an 18 week 18 win to move them to 11- six on the year cementing them as arguably the hottest team going into the playoffs likely as a wild card team but still at 11 and six you can't hate it so that's what I've Outro got 11 and six for the Bengals and just kind of to wrap all this up like I said we don't predict injuries here I'm not going to sit here and say well if burrow gets no if burrow gets hurt they're going to suck they're going to be not nearly as good of course they're not well if burrow gets hurt and Chase of course they're going to be bad if that happens I'm not predicting that this is roster as is folks so like I said earlier that being said this just assumes perfect health on the offensive line which just does not happen in the NFL it's so rare if they lose one of their starting interior offensive line this season could be a disaster quickly like I said they can win 11 games they can win six six games also if the offensive line crumbles they've got to keep burrow upright to reach their ceiling this year if they don't keep burrow upright if they get him hurt by not protecting him this is a seven- win team so it's all on the offensive line that's their entire season is on this offensive line so that's all I've got for you guys on today's in-depth dive into the Cincinnati Bengals it's August there's football games going on as I am recording this it is so exciting that we are here and and we hear at the Playbook Sports podcast absolutely cannot wait if you're not already subscribed make sure you subscribe now it costs you nothing and it really helps support the channel we really appreciate it we will have our first Brill in studio coming out very very soon for you guys where we break down everything it is going to be a long day of recording and we are so excited so we'll see you stay tuned for all those videos coming out and we'll see you guys in the next one [Music]