CINCINNATI -- Health and defense.
Those are typically the two most important factors that will determine the Cincinnati Bengals' success -- with 2026 potentially being a make-or-break season for the franchise.
But there's another factor perhaps camouflaged by names and salaries: the offense.
Even when quarterback Joe Burrow -- who missed nine games -- was healthy last season, Cincinnati's offense did not look like one of the most high-powered and expensive groups in the NFL. And Burrow is as aware as anyone that becoming a playoff contender again starts with becoming a better offense, particularly on first downs.
"There's no secret that the last several years go the way we wanted to, and there's a lot of blame to go around for that -- myself included," Burrow said last week.
When Burrow has been an MVP finalist (2022 and 2024), he has been one of the league's most efficient and productive passers on first downs, when the down and distance isn't generally tilted toward the offense or defense.
But in those neutral situations last season, Burrow's numbers dipped significantly. Among quarterbacks who had at least 100 dropbacks in 2025, Burrow had a league-worst EPA of minus-11.4 on first downs, according to ESPN Research.
Much of that was skewed by one of Cincinnati's biggest issues last season -- defensive touchdowns. Burrow was the only player last season to have multiple first-down dropbacks result in defensive touchdowns. Two were on interceptions (Week 14 against Buffalo, Week 18 against Cleveland) and another was on a lost fumble (Week 18 against Cleveland).
While EPA can provide deeper insights on how plays impacted a game, success rate (whether a play had a positive or negative EPA) can be a better indicator of play-to-play consistency.
There, Burrow rated much higher (14th) among qualifying quarterbacks. But when Burrow was an MVP finalist, he was significantly better on first downs. In those seasons, he ranked fifth and third, respectively.
Speaking to ESPN this week, Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said the team looks at EPA and success rate when evaluating the team in the offseason. And the numbers are clear.
"I would say that's one area where we felt like we probably underperformed just to the standards that we've set for ourselves and really standards that we've met in other areas of the offense," Pitcher said.
Cincinnati's long-time staffer and third-year coordinator pointed out that there are caveats with any metric. Not all first-and-10 situations are created equally. Sometimes efficiency is sacrificed for setting up a play later in the game or trying to neutralize an opponent's strength. But the analytics that depict how the Bengals fared are a good baseline for where the team stood.
Throughout the offseason, the Bengals have lamented the lack of explosive plays -- carries of 10-plus yards or receptions of 20-plus yards -- that were a calling card during the team's deep playoff runs in 2021 and 2022. Only 7.9% of Cincinnati's plays last season were explosive, which ranked 27th in the NFL. On first downs, the explosive play rate rose to 8.4%, which ranked 23rd.
And during voluntary offseason workouts, the Bengals have emphasized creating more big plays in 2026.
"With the playmakers that we have and the guys that we have in this locker room," tight end Mike Gesicki said, "I think that we have the ability to be more explosive. Not just in the past game, that's in the run game too."
Finding bigger and more efficient plays has involved some schematic tweaks. The Bengals know finding the solution to being better offensively will be crucial to becoming a formidable team again.
"You have to be current on what's playing in the league, what are current successful trends in the league," Pitcher said. "You learn from your peers, but you do it in a way that's you stay true to your core principles of who you are offensively.
"For us, we're player-driven, we're player-centric. So everything we do is going to be centered on putting our guys in position to do what they do well."