Worst OL in the NFL?

[gregcook69]

All the talking heads saying how Flacco won’t help because no running game and the worst OL in the league!

I agree, Flacco, regardless of how good he plays, cannot overcome a hapless defense!

Not hearing this from the THs!

What a job!  Making millions giving opinions that everyone else has!
 

https://www.statmuse.com/nfl/ask/most-sacks-allowed-nfl
 

 

[gregcook69]

Whitworth weighs in:
 

https://www.cincyjungle.com/cincinnati-bengals-news/176538/andrew-whitworth-shocking-stat-offensive-line-history

[HoosierCat]

I don't think it's the worst o-line in the league, it's just a mess right now.

The No. 1 issue is continuity. Watch the games and there are obvious communication and coordination/execution issues, which isn't surprising considering they have had one rookie starting at LG and three different RGs in five games. Dalton Risner in particular was awful. He and Mims were just completely out of sync and it was painful to watch. The difference between Risner+Mims and Rivers+Mims was night and day, so Rivers getting the start again this week even though Risner is available doesn't surprise me. Let's hop for continued good results there.

Of course, now it looks like we will be starting our second LG in six games this week...sigh. Can't catch a break.

The second and third problems are named Ted Karras and Orlando Brown Jr. I thought Ted looked like he was coming to the end of the line last season, and this year I am sure of it. The only reason I am not calling for Matt Lee is issue No. 1. The last thing we need is yet more turnover on the line. But I won't be surprised if they get there before the season ends. In any event, I don't expect Ted to collect on that one year extension he inked a few weeks back.

As for Brown, he looks so slow out there this year. Maybe he's nursing some undisclosed injury, I dunno. But Father Time may have caught up to him too. Bengals are going to have to look at LT early next April imo.

[ArmyBengal]

If things really go off the rail even with Flacco, I think they really need to see what they have in guys like Matt Lee.
Is he really going to be the long term answer when Karras leaves, which I agree should be sooner rather than later?
If both Karras and OBJ leave do they look to the draft?  Free agency?  Middle tier guy to get by?
I'd love to start fresh through the draft, but don't think that's a recipe for success in 2026.  I could be proven wrong of course.

I like Fairchild and not sure what is going on because he looked good early on.  What happened?
Is it him sucking? Injury? Decline of others around him? Scheme?  I really have no idea.

I do know that Karras talking about looking forward to working with Flacco didn't sound very sincere.
It sounded like what you have to say when the camera is in your face.

Honestly, I think the o-line has more issues than just talent.  Something seems really off with that group.
It's like they aren't a group, but just 5 dudes out there doing their own thing.

[HoosierCat]

Yeah, Fairchild got hurt last week, that's why he couldn't move in the second half. I don't know why they left him in there, he was clearly a liability.

I agree, we need to figure out if Lee or McLaughlin can be the center going forward. If the season continues to spiral there will be opportunities. Silver lining I guess.

Also agree that the line has not gelled. I think they will get there if there's some stability, but obviously that's been the problem.

[COB]

The o line coach is likely gone after this train wreck season.  So that’ll be more (though necessary) change.  I guess all that Kung Fu he was going to teach our guys didn’t help.

[gregcook69]

2 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

I don't think it's the worst o-line in the league, it's just a mess right now.

The No. 1 issue is continuity. Watch the games and there are obvious communication and coordination/execution issues, which isn't surprising considering they have had one rookie starting at LG and three different RGs in five games. Dalton Risner in particular was awful. He and Mims were just completely out of sync and it was painful to watch. The difference between Risner+Mims and Rivers+Mims was night and day, so Rivers getting the start again this week even though Risner is available doesn't surprise me. Let's hop for continued good results there.

Of course, now it looks like we will be starting our second LG in six games this week...sigh. Can't catch a break.

The second and third problems are named Ted Karras and Orlando Brown Jr. I thought Ted looked like he was coming to the end of the line last season, and this year I am sure of it. The only reason I am not calling for Matt Lee is issue No. 1. The last thing we need is yet more turnover on the line. But I won't be surprised if they get there before the season ends. In any event, I don't expect Ted to collect on that one year extension he inked a few weeks back.

As for Brown, he looks so slow out there this year. Maybe he's nursing some undisclosed injury, I dunno. But Father Time may have caught up to him too. Bengals are going to have to look at LT early next April imo.

I know ‘allowed sacks’ aren’t the complete ‘gauge for OL, but the first article shows 8 teams with MORE sacks!

The second article is from a man who has not only played as an NFL offensive lineman, but actually played WITH the Bengals.

I’ll go with Whit’s assessment.

 

 

 

 

 

[ArmyBengal]

1 hour ago, COB said:

I guess all that Kung Fu he was going to teach our guys didn’t help.

He should have had them all stop eating Cap'n Crunch in the morning. 

[AMPHAR]

Sticking up for the Bengals O-line is dangerously close to turd polishing.  Are they worse in the league?  No.  Are they to blame for Burrow's latest injury? No.   Would Jake Browning have played better behind the league's best O-line?  I'm guessing NO.   He sucked the same as he did in multiple preseasons.

However, the Bengals o-line is as it always has been recently.   The 3 sack a game average exists.  Not good.  They give up a high amount of pressure despite a lower blitz rate which means teams can pressure well enough without giving the Bengals an advantage in coverage. 

Bengal fan rode Alexander in the ground at a time he actually had lines that would only give up 17 sacks in season, lol.  Many fans wanted to be victim of a poor o-line, welp here you go. 

There's numerous excuses but until this unit gets off 3 sacks a game its hard to make any case for them at all.   I do think Mims outside of Denver is playing very well.  I think age is showing on Karras and OBJ.  Hopefully they have some young OL to invest in.

[HoosierCat]

Agreed, the line is not good, but imo it's taken more than its fair share of blame for how things have gone so far.

I've watched a lot of Bengals football, and I've seen a lot of bad olines. Really, really bad olines. This one is just below average.

[HoosierCat]

To broaden the scope a little bit, I think the real challenge for the organization moving forward re the oline is that, at the current pace, it will need a lot of luck to get to good, much less great, before almost all of Burrow's deal is up.

Right now, the most glaring personnel problem on the line is the complete absence of any players in the prime of their careers. Instead we have three starters with little to no experience (Fairchild, Rivers, Mims) and two more players who are declining from Seasoned Veterans into Old Washed Up Dudes right before our eyes. All the guys who could have been those 25/26/27-year-old vets with 3-5 years of experience are all over on the draft bust pile.

Assuming the sunniest future possible, that both Fairchild and Rivers work out, Mims continues to develop, one of the center prospects currently in house also works out and they hit on a starting LT in the next draft, then it's 2027 before they don't have a rookie starting and 2028 before everyone has at least two seasons of experience. And Joe's deal expires in 2029, when he will be 33.

[COB]

8 minutes ago, HoosierCat said:

To broaden the scope a little bit, I think the real challenge for the organization moving forward re the oline is that, at the current pace, it will need a lot of luck to get to good, much less great, before almost all of Burrow's deal is up.

Right now, the most glaring personnel problem on the line is the complete absence of any players in the prime of their careers. Instead we have three starters with little to no experience (Fairchild, Rivers, Mims) and two more players who are declining from Seasoned Veterans into Old Washed Up Dudes right before our eyes. All the guys who could have been those 25/26/27-year-old vets with 3-5 years of experience are all over on the draft bust pile.

Assuming the sunniest future possible, that both Fairchild and Rivers work out, Mims continues to develop, one of the center prospects currently in house also works out and they hit on a starting LT in the next draft, then it's 2027 before they don't have a rookie starting and 2028 before everyone has at least two seasons of experience. And Joe's deal expires in 2029, when he will be 33.

The only thing they can realistically do (I’m assuming Mike’s not going to go out and pay huge $$ for a free agent stud or two) is go out and get the absolute best, EXPERIENCED, o-line coach on the market and pay him what he wants.  We need a leader in that room, and it appears it’s going to have to be the coach.

[AMPHAR]

O-line conversation starts with Joe Flacco.   If the 3 sack per game metric exists in his starts.  Look at the OL coach/talent.   If the pressure metrics improve look more at Burrow and Zac Taylor.  

Flacco isn't going to run much.  He's not a statue either.  Throws it way vs. trying to endlessly extend the play.    Its almost a perfect guinea pig. 

 

[TJJackson]

I think they need to dedicate 2 picks in round 1-5 to OL every year for the next few years

if you have a strong OL, it makes mediocre qb, rb, and/or receivers look a lot better

GIMME A LINEMAN

[volcom69]

O-Line played much better yesterday, well in the pass protection that is. They still have no clue how to run block. 
 

Risner had a great game yesterday allowing 0 pressures. Maybe you roll with this o-line or if they are not confident in Rivers, then try Patrick once he gets back from injury. 

[TJJackson]

Risner would have been much better if they had gotten him early in FA....he would have had much more practice before playing

[HoosierCat]

On 10/10/2025 at 11:19 AM, AMPHAR said:

O-line conversation starts with Joe Flacco.   If the 3 sack per game metric exists in his starts.  Look at the OL coach/talent.   If the pressure metrics improve look more at Burrow and Zac Taylor.  

Flacco isn't going to run much.  He's not a statue either.  Throws it way vs. trying to endlessly extend the play.    Its almost a perfect guinea pig. 

 

And game 1 says look at Burrow/Taylor. See how it goes.

[gregcook69]

Joe Burrow sacked 5 times after 5 quarters with Bengals OL in 2025.

Joe Flacco sacked 3 times after 8 quarters with the same OL Burrow had.

[Stripes]

I think the best explanation is that the OL has improved a little with more time to gel. Newcomers (i.e., Fairchild, Rivers, and especially Risner) needed some reps. Cohesion is extremely important up front.

Hopefully they continue to trend up.

[HoosierCat]

Imo the biggest factor re Flacco is that he’s not interested in being the hero. If he gets the snap and the play is there he throws the ball. If not he puts it in the dirt or in the stands and moves on to the next down. He rarely has asked the line to hold up for more that 3 or so seconds.

The adjacent factor is just that he knows he’s got two of the best receivers in football so 90% of the passing game plan is: is Jamarr open? If yes, throw the ball. If not, throw it to Tee.

[ArmyBengal]

I don’t know and could probably go look, but it appeared that Flacco was getting the ball out of his hands quickly more often than not. Very decisive.

[HoosierCat]

It’s really not that complex, Andy did it for years with the pre-snap read system. Flacco is effectively doing the same thing, at least as far as familiar teams are concerned. There’s nothing they can show him that he hasn’t seen, which is why Tomlin was so butthurt. So we should be a little restrained about what this means for teams like the jets and bears. But in the division, dude ought to be money.

[Coltsguy451]

1 hour ago, HoosierCat said:

It’s really not that complex, Andy did it for years with the pre-snap read system. Flacco is effectively doing the same thing, at least as far as familiar teams are concerned. There’s nothing they can show him that he hasn’t seen, which is why Tomlin was so butthurt. So we should be a little restrained about what this means for teams like the jets and bears. But in the division, dude ought to be money.

Dalton never had weapons like Jmar or Tee though

[ArmyBengal]

3 hours ago, Coltsguy451 said:

Dalton never had weapons like Jmar or Tee though

Not to be argumentative but he did have AJ Green.

The ultimate “Throw it up and let 18 get it”.

[ArmyBengal]

5 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

It’s really not that complex, Andy did it for years with the pre-snap read system. Flacco is effectively doing the same thing, at least as far as familiar teams are concerned. There’s nothing they can show him that he hasn’t seen, which is why Tomlin was so butthurt. So we should be a little restrained about what this means for teams like the jets and bears. But in the division, dude ought to be money.

Valid point for sure…