Despite quarterback Joe Burrow’s missed preseason and a young defense replacing key leaders, expectations remain high for a Bengals team that went to back-to-back AFC championships and now seeks another shot at the franchise’s first Super Bowl trophy. The road begins with back-to-back divisional games at Cleveland and home against Baltimore, which Hilton said “are a chance to separate from the rest of the pack.”
“We know we’ve got all the pieces, and the sky is the limit for this team if we just go out and execute like we know we can,” Hilton said.
Cincinnati has a plan in place to make sure Burrow is ready to go after he returned to practice Wednesday after missing five weeks with a strained right calf. Since the Bengals drafted him No. 1 overall in 2020, it’s the fourth straight year Burrow is coming into the season without a normal lead-up.
Burrow was looking forward to the potential for a normal preseason after COVID impacted his rookie season, the comeback from ACL surgery shortened his 2021 preseason and appendicitis set him back last year. Now, the Bengals will be doing everything they can to make sure his calf injury isn’t the next factor into another slow start to the season.
The Bengals opened 0-2 last year, with Burrow accounting for five turnovers in a loss to Pittsburgh in Week 1, and they were just 5-4 at the bye in both 2022 and 2021.
“I think you do your best to come out of the gates fast and execute in the way you want to,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “I mean, there’s certainly things that have gotten in the way a little bit there, but I think every year is a different year. t starts different. You play a different style of teams, and we got two really big division games off the bat. So, there’s a way we have to play against those teams, and, you know, the hope is that we don’t really think about the hindsight of not starting fast. … I think it is important for us to start fast this year, again, with two division games out the gate the first two weeks.”
While the offense wasn’t in top form until the second half of the season last year, the defense has been able to keep the Bengals in games and more often than not put Burrow in position to go win games. This year with two new safeties replacing Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell, there are questions how cohesive the defense will look, but Hilton said the players trust defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to have them prepared.
Anarumo has been able to get the most out of the defense, despite whatever perceived weaknesses it has carried, and a rebuilt secondary — with Dax Hill and Nick Scott as the safeties — isn’t anything new he’s faced.
“We’re coming a long way,” Hilton said. “Obviously, there’s still going to be mistakes. We’re integrating a lot of new guys, but one thing about this room, we’re all in one accord. We’re all trying to make sure everyone’s in the right position to make plays, and we’re communicating and flying around. We know it might still take some time, but we trust Lou and our coaches to have us set up and we just have to go execute.”
A deep defensive line might be missing a key rotational edge with Joseph Ossai nursing a sprained ankle, but Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard look to get the pass rush back to finishing more sacks in 2023, and DJ Reader and B.J. Hill are back to eat up blocks in the interior. Behind them, Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt are playmakers who have performed on the biggest stages.
Chidobe Awuzie’s return from ACL surgery is another key, along with Cam Taylor-Britt’s development in Year 2, but on the other side of the ball, all the main weapons are back with the “Big Three” receivers in Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, as well as running back Joe Mixon.
An offensive line returning four starters and adding Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to the mix brings promise, and Taylor said the top thing he’s looking forward to seeing from Burrow is “winning.” He’s the driver of success, and the Bengals plan to do a lot of winning with him.
“Keep playing in January and February,” Taylor said, when asked what the next level for the offense is. “That’s our goal is to continue to have great seasons where we put ourselves in that position, and that’s as a team. As an offense you’re always trying to score points and keep the defense off the field and make their job easier. As a team our goal has always been to be at the forefront of the division. Like I’ve said before that gives you the best path into the playoffs and this division is the best in football. When you come out you’re battle tested. Just as a team that’s what our focus always is.”
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