The Cincinnati Bengals offense should be even more dangerous this year thanks to the offensive line
John Sheeran discusses the play of past Cincinnati Bengals offensive line from week 12 on last season and how the continuity should help the team from a slow start in 2026.
Video Transcript
At the beginning of last year, it was an issue because of course, Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury when he took another sack because the offensive line for the Bengals continued to go through this turmoil of finding the best starting five.
And with Burrow out and Jake Browning and Joe Flacco in, there was still troubles that the Bengals were finding themselves in with the offensive line and getting the best guys out there, al- while also dealing with injuries as well.
Risner specifically found himself on the bench in favor of a rookie in Jalen Rivers, who was really struggling, but I think the team was trying to give him some much needed development and reps while the offense was trying to find itself with backup quarterbacks.
And then when Risner came back in to replace Rivers in week 12, everything about the group, the position group as a whole, changed dramatically for the better.
Listed on screen with me are the top 15 offensive lines according to Pro Football Focus' pass blocking efficiency rating.
The Bengals ranked second in the entire NFL, only behind the Pittsburgh Steelers, from weeks 12 through 18 in this rating.
Orlando Brown Jr. at left tackle, Dylan Fairchild at left guard, Ted Karras at center, inserting Dalton Risner back in at right guard, and Amarius Mims at right tackle proved to be the true starting five for this team and this offense to count on because they played really, really well together for a span of seven weeks against some pretty solid competition
