The new offensive coordinator for the Bengals discusses bringing balance to the offense in 2024.

Over the previous few seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff has been subject to a good deal of criticism over the offensive side of the ball’s underutilization of the running game. On the offensive end, the squad undoubtedly has explosive playmakers and an excellent passer in Joe Burrow, but any football coach worth their salt knows that when players become one-dimensional, it makes things much easier for the opposition.

Bengals of Cincinnati Tee Higgins.

Unfortunately under Head Coach Zac Taylor, the offense has become incredibly one dimensional as the running attack has become almost non existent.  Last season, the team ran the ball 353 times while passing the ball 695 times for a staggering 33% rate of running the football.  Under the new offensive leadership this season, there will have to be changes to round out the offense and make it more dynamic.

Bengals Offensive Coordinator Addresses Offensive Imbalance.

Fortunately for Cincinnati, Dan Pitcher, who was hired to succeed Brian Callahan when the latter left to take a position as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, is the new offensive coordinator in town. Pitcher has spent his entire NFL career coaching quarterbacks, but some of his latest remarks suggest the coaching staff might finally be paying attention to logic.

Pitcher stated, “The ability to run the football is essential to offensive success.” Each team will have a distinct idea of what that entails. As a staff, we will examine that over the course of the upcoming few months. We’ll determine how to best position our players for success and, like with everything else, we’ll aim to improve in that area as well.

Joe Mixon, a gifted running back, has been a mainstay of the Cincinnati running attack for the last seven seasons. Although Mixon was once one of the best rushers in the NFL, his durability has cost him explosiveness, as he is currently ranked among the league’s worst big play backs. The issue got so bad that the team selected running back Chase Brown in the previous NFL draft in order to provide the position a little bit more speed.

Optimistically, the combination of Pitcher’s commitment to rebalancing the offense as well as an infusion of youth at the running back position will improve the running game in Cincinnati.  The offensive line improved with the rushing attack last season and an uptick in the running game will make it much easier to protect the quarterback in the passing game.  While there is plenty of talent on the offense, a less predictable play calling strategy would improve the offense’s ability to generate explosive plays.