CINCINNATI, Ohio — Three games into the 2025 NFL seasons, the Bengals are among the league’s worst offenses.
They are dead last in the NFL in rushing (49.0 yards per game), last in yards per carry (2.4) and they lead the league with eight turnovers.
The Bengals committed five turnovers in their 48-10 loss to the Vikings in Week 3, and two of them turned into touchdowns.
Head coach Zac Taylor has a different perspective – one that offers insight into the team’s current struggles while expressing confidence in their future performance.
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“The first three games of the season have just been a strange thing, and they just continue to evolve as the season goes,” Taylor told reporters in his Thursday press conference. “And so again, we don’t look at that as, ‘That defines us. That’s what we’re going to be statistically. It’s going to continue on this trend.’
“You’re finding your identity as a team, as an offense, as a defense early in the season, trying to find wins while you’re doing that,” Taylor continued. “And then again, your team will continue to evolve, and things take shape. Everything evens out.”
This mature outlook reflects Taylor’s understanding that NFL seasons are marathons, not sprints. Early struggles, while frustrating, aren’t necessarily indicative of what a team will become by season’s end.
Perhaps most reassuring for Bengals fans is Taylor’s confidence in his playmakers, particularly wide receiver Tee Higgins, who hasn’t produced at his usual level. When asked if he needs to reassure his star receiver, Taylor’s response revealed the team-first culture that’s been established.
“That’s the thing about our guys is there’s not an ego that’s involved in any of this,” Taylor said. “When it hasn’t gone that way for guys, they really trust where it will head. They know this. There’s been games before where some of our main guys have caught a ball or been targeted once. They know the next game might be 12 targets and 10 catches.”
This perspective is crucial for maintaining confidence and focus during rough patches. Rather than panicking or forcing the ball to certain players, the team trusts that opportunities will balance out over time.
“We got great players. Over a 17-game regular season, it’s all going to take its shape and even out,” Taylor stated confidently.
The coach also provided insight into what’s holding the offense back, identifying not one glaring issue but a series of small details across position groups.
“There’s been a lot of meat on the bone in some of these games we’ve played so far. We can see the opportunity and it’s just, it’s not always the same person,” Taylor explained. “It can be a different combination. It can be a different single block. It can be a back, it can be a receiver digging out a safety. It can be more strain from a tight end on a pull. There’s just different things that show up that we can all be better at.”
This granular analysis suggests the Bengals are close to breaking through – that the offensive struggles stem from minor execution issues rather than fundamental flaws in the scheme or personnel.
As Cincinnati prepares for its upcoming prime-time matchup vs. Denver, Taylor’s message is clear: this team is still discovering what it can be. The sample size is small, the season is long, and the Bengals’ true offensive identity is still taking shape – strange start and all.