It seems to be a gone year in Cincinnati. After Burrow's season-ending injury, the Bengals have lost 3 on the trot. However, can this be a franchise-altering moment?
The average QB Rating in the NFL, as of 2017 was 88.6. IN the 2020 NFL Season, Burrow's QB Rating was 89.8. True, those aren't mind-boggling numbers, but when you see Brandon Allen's QB Rating is a measly 35.5, while Ryan Finley's is (get ready) a legendary 8.8. Both take turns in playing QB in the absence of Burrow. You can see how the Bengals are compromising right now. It's also important to know that Burrow is still a rookie playing for the worst team in the 2019 NFL Season, arguably the worst O-Line this season & an overall heavily flawed team. Despite the conditions, he has still led them to wins against the Jacksonville Jaguars & the Tennessee Titans, along with a draw against the Philadelphia Eagles.
For a person that has does not follow the NFL, if you show him/her the current Cincinnati Bengals' record, which stands at 2-10-1, they'd say that it was a bad season. However, records sometimes don't speak for themselves.
Let's take the example of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I remember seeing a Tweet (which I can't find), in which a person used an algorithm to rank unbeaten teams at Week 13. At the end of Week 12, the Steelers sat atop the AFC and had the NFL's best record with an unbeaten record of 11-0. However, it was clear that the defense was carrying them. To say the offense had been underwhelming would be an understatement. Therefore, out of the 18 teams in the history of the league that was unbeaten heading into Week 13, the Steelers were the 17th worst team. The Steelers then went on to lose their next two games, against the Washington Football Team & the Buffalo Bills. The Steelers are now the 2nd seed in the AFC, behind Patrick Mahomes & the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Steelers' Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, looks as if age has caught up with him, and seems to be getting more and more tired by each passing game.
How being bad could be good for any team
It's fair to say after Burrow's leg got clobbered by Johnathan Allen, any hope of the 2020 Cincinnati Bengals being a good team is now lost. Both Tee Higgins & Tyler Boyd, the future face of the team along with Burrow, have taken step backs in their production.
However, let's face it: the injury was coming. Maybe not this season, but in the next 2-3 seasons. And the Bengals deserve every bit of the blame. To say the O-Line is one of the worst in the 100-year history of the league, would be an understatement. It's fair to say, under a much better O-Line, Burrow would make a case for Rookie of the Year, and maybe even MVP (hey, it's just a prediction).
We've seen what can happen under a terrible O-Line. Take the example of David Carr. After being drafted No. 1 overall by the newly-conceived Houston Texans, he got sacked 76 times, a rookie record. He later went on the be labelled as one of the biggest draft busts. Or even the tragic story of Andrew Luck. After being labelled as one of the most complete QBs in college, matching that of the great Peyton Manning, Luck flourished after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts. However, his O-line was so bad, that he was constantly in rehab, and even once getting his kidney torn, after being sacked. He suddenly retired in 2019, at the age of 29.
Even Carson Palmer, who after being drafted (you guessed it) No. 1 overall by none other than the Bengals, played good, but injuries caught up to him, and he could never really find his form until 2015 when he united with Bruce Arians.
So we know that no matter the talent of a QB, he needs a well-functioning O-Line to be dangerous.
Burrow had taken 72 hits all season up to the game against Washington. Those numbers were high, even from a historical standpoint.
Insert the NFL Draft. An event in which players & teams futures could be made. FL teams choose players from different universities, in hope of turning their fate around. Take a look at the Colts. After struggling after their overnight move from Baltimore, they were handed the No. 1 overall pick. They drafted Peyton Manning. He transformed the franchise into a force to be reckoned with, winning a Superbowl in the process. He is considered to be one of the greatest ever to grace the game.
In the 2020 NFL Draft, the Bengals looked to find their Manning and drafted Joe Burrow first overall. By now, you should know that they didn't do a very good job of protecting him. Quite the opposite really. This resulted in him getting injured ad being ruled out for the remainder of the season.
The NFL awards the worst team of the previous season the first pick. The second-worst team gets the second pick, and so on. This goes on for 7 rounds or 255 picks.
In theory, the best players can be found in the first couple of picks, though not always the case.
If this trend continues, the Bengals will be awarded the third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. It's almost certain that they will try and beef up their O-Line. Almost all sources say they are picking Offensive Tackle, Penei Sewell, from Oregon.
SB Nation community Cincy Jungle claims they could draft another tackle, in the form of Walker Little, from Stanford, who would be a risky move, considering his injury last year.
They also could try and build a world-class defense, and invest some picks into the defensive side.
The Bengals don't have a lot of high picks, i.e. 1st-3rd rounds. But we've seen the New Orleans Saints turn into a Superbowl contender when in the 2017 NFL Draft, they drafted Pro Bowlers in the form of Lattimore & Kamara.
Not drafting Penei would be suicide for the Bengals
We have seen teams draft players at certain positions, which wasn't their biggest need. Take, for example, the Green Bay Packers selecting Jordan Love 26th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, when they had a really good Aaron Rodgers and needed a WR or when the Detroit Lions drafted Mike Williams, when in fact they needed a DE.
In defense of the Packers, they were looking to build for the long-term, which a Packers fan like me would disagree with, considering we are ready to win now.
Mike Williams, however, turned out to be one of the biggest draft busts in the history of the league, further implying that the Lions are cursed. To this day, no one has a solid explanation as to why they took Mike Williams.
The Bengals, much like the Lions, don't have an excuse for not drafting an O-Line in the first round. Joe Burrow is a young QB, and planning for the long-term would only mean wasting his career and putting his health at risk.
However, it is also important that they draft players at other positions, as the O-Line isn't the only hole in this deeply flawed Bengals team.
Conclusion
Joe Burrow getting injured can, and has shown us holes in this Bengals team. There is simply nobody to make the big plays which cover up how bad this Bengals team is.
Mike Brown also should be ready to invest in players that may improve the team. If he wants to change his reputation from a very cheap owner, that loves to compromise in everything, into an owner that's capable of turning around a struggling franchise, this is his time.
If coach Zac Taylor wants a prayer of keeping his job, he better start working on ways to protect their franchise QB. Simply drafting & signing big names isn't going to get the job done. He should find a way to also build around the players that he has right now. With nothing left to play for in the season, he has to prove to other players from across the league that Cincinnati is an upcoming dynasty and can compete with their divisional rivals.
The 2021 NFL season could be a pivotal moment in franchise history. It could pave the way for success for many years to come, or 2021 will show us that no matter the offseason moves, the Bengals are destined to be a mediocre team. The 2021 season will also show us how these Bengals will respond to adversity.
Sources: ESPN, Pro Football Reference, Cincy Jungle, Wikipedia, Reddit, Twitter, Pro Football Focus, The Guardian, Sporting News, cincinnati.com, Highlight Hell, Getty Images.