The Arizona Cardinals face the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend on Sunday at 10 a.m. Arizona time on the road. Each team is winless and has a rookie head coach.
But since the Cardinals face the Bengals so infrequently — this is only the 12th meeting ever — we took the opportunity to find out more about them and their season.
Bengals Wire managing editor Chris Roling answered a few questions to give us some insight into the Bengals’ season and struggles.
The Bengals, like the Cardinals, have a new coaching staff and system. What are the early returns on Zac Taylor and his offense?
Unfortunately for Taylor, whatever he has planned really hasn’t been able to get off the ground thanks to a poor offensive line and some other factors. He’s running some creative Rams-esque looks, meaning lots of things out of only a few different formations. Tyler Boyd is still the No. 1 wideout (15 first downs on 27 catches) and Taylor hasn’t been afraid to stick with John Ross, who was leading the league at one point in receiving. He heads to IR (it’s been that sort of season) this week, though, with 16 catches for 328 yards and three scores.
What have been the main factors for the Bengals’ winless start to the season?
Everything, really. The offensive line suffered a pair of retirements in the offseason. The first-round left tackle is on injured reserve. His replacement, Cordy Glenn, is still recovering from a concussion suffered in the preseason. That leaves backup right tackle Andre Smith starting at left tackle. Billy Price, a first-round pick from 2018, can’t even break on to the field, which is saying something given this is probably right there as the league’s worst offensive line. Joe Mixon hasn’t been able to get going, both because of the line and an ankle injury he’s played through. Andy Dalton has imploded under pressure. Don’t forget defensively, where a bad linebacker unit keeps getting exploited as offenses run plays to the sidelines.
With no Cordy Glenn, A.J. Green or John Ross, how will the Bengals respond? How will the Bengals protect Andy Dalton, and who will be the offensive weapons?
They’re going to keep trying to rely on a quick release while helping the line via tight ends. Boyd is the big name at this point, though even he’s going to have some problems now that Ross’ speed isn’t on the field to create space. This could mean a bigger role for Tyler Eifert, who only has 11 catches and has been relegated to a situational weapon. Given the health and performance of the line, there isn’t much left the Bengals can do.
What can we expect from the Bengals defensively? What do they do well? Where do they struggle?
They’re superb at creating pressure thanks to Geno Atkins and others. They’re awful at linebacker, where none of the guys on the roster have shown the speed necessary to handle lateral plays to the sidelines. The new multiple look from a new coordinator has been a dud for the most part. Seattle struggled against it in Week 1, but otherwise teams have exploited the linebacker problems smartly.
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