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Within the aftermath of the Bengals loss in Tremendous Bowl LVI, there’s been loads of autopsy evaluation for why Cincinnati wasn’t in a position to attain the NFL‘s mountaintop. One of many extra well-documented causes comes alongside the offensive line and the shortage of safety that unit was in a position to give second-year quarterback Joe Burrow.
This has been Cincinnati’s Achilles heel for the previous few years. In 2020, poor play alongside the O-line contributed to the then-rookie quarterback tearing up his knee and people issues continued to bleed into this common season the place Burrow was sacked 51 occasions. The previous No. 1 general choose being below siege did not subside within the playoffs both as he was taken down an extra 19 occasions, totaling 70 sacks on the season.
In Tremendous Bowl LVI, the unit was in a position to maintain its personal within the first half as they gave up only one sack, however then issues collapsed over the ultimate two quarters the place they let the likes of Aaron Donald, Von Miller, and the remainder of the Rams protection to put up six sacks en-route to the win.
Following the announcement that he inked a contract extension with the Bengals, head coach Zac Taylor did come to the protection of his O-line amid the scrutiny and positioned some blame on his play calling.
“We simply must be higher as a unit,” mentioned Taylor, by way of the official staff web site. “I believe that we’ll simply look to enhance the staff any method that we are able to and never particular to 1 crucial group. The offensive line helped us get to the Tremendous Bowl. They gave us alternatives to go win the Tremendous Bowl. Every part all the time falls on them statistically, however that is not all the time the case. There are play calls that could possibly be higher to assist put them in a greater place. There’s a lot that performs into all that. They had been an offensive line that helped us get to the Tremendous Bowl and gave us alternatives to win and I believe they need to be recommended for that.”
Whereas Taylor does make a stable case that there are a number of components within the breakdown of holding Burrow — who suffered a sprained MCL within the Tremendous Bowl — upright, bettering the expertise stage alongside the offensive line must be precedence No. 1 for Cincinnati this offseason. It is merely not sustainable for Burrow’s profession to take that continued abuse on a yearly foundation and even gamers on the roster have famous as such.
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