Don’t give up on the Bengals offense just yet

Some of you might have already given up on the Bengals offense and I don’t blame you.

It’s hard to think that an offense which has only scored nine points through two home games could turn things around. An offense that has yet to score a single touchdown, led by a quarterback who makes these kinds of throws on a regular basis.

But, if you’re standing on the ledge looking down, wondering if it’s better to just toss yourself over than have to start A.J. Green again, only to watch him record five catches for 67 yards, I implore you to take a step back.

Things will get better.

For starters, the Bengals’ schedule is about to get easier. They face the Packers in Week 3, then rattle off the lineup Browns, Bills, Steelers and Colts. That’s not exactly murders row when it comes to defensive prowess. Antonio Brown put over 180 yards on the Browns in Week 1 while the Colts made Jared Goff look like a competent quarterback. The Bengals started their season facing two defenses that will almost certainly finish top-10—possibly in top-5—in total yards. Plus, both the Ravens and Texans have a strong pass rush, something that tends to hamper offenses with terrible O-lines.

Another reason to step off the ledge: Green about to get FED!

After Thursday night’s loss, Green had some poignant words to say about the Bengals offense and how well they’ve been playing:

“We are playing like shit right now,” Green said, not stopping there. “We got to find a way to get our playmakers the ball. That’s it. It’s a superstar-driven league. You are not going to win without them.”

Green is not wrong. Last year, the Bengals were 3-0-1 when Green was on the field and finished with over 100 yards receiving. They were 0-8 when he played and had less than 100 yards. That same narrative played out last night as the Bengals completely went away from their best receiver in the second half of the game, targeting him only four times despite the Texans missing their two starting cornerbacks. There’s no clear reason why.

I have to think at some point Andy Dalton is just going to say “eff this” and start chucking bombs to Green downfield, which—shocker—he did that once last night and it was easily the team’s biggest play of the night.

The Bengals offense still houses some potential fantasy stars between Green, a healthy Tyler Eifert and Joe Mixon. Even Giovani Bernard has been flashing some fantasy ability.

We’re two weeks into the NFL season and the Bengals have been one of the two unfortunate teams to play the first condensed week of the season. That’s never going to turn out well. Give them a few more weeks. Let the dust settle and see what’s there.

I’ll tell you this much, I’m going to be contacting every Green owner in my leagues, convincing them that the Bengals are washed up and they should cut bait with Green ASAP. I just think we haven’t seen this offense click yet, and I’d hate to have just gotten rid of my Bengals players when it does.