When it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals offense in 2024, star quarterback Joe Burrow is expecting one major change. After the offense might have become a tad predictable at times last season, Burrow is expecting more variety moving forward under new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher.
“I think we’ll see a little bit more variety than we have in the past,” Burrow said. “I think we’re gonna dictate that [tempo] a little more this year. I’m excited about the pressure we’re going to put on defenses with our style of offense this year, I think it’ll be exciting to watch."
Cincinnati added some new offensive weapons -- like tight end Mike Gesicki and rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton -- this offseason, and those additions could work to add some spice to the offense.
“I think with the personnel that we have this year, we will be able to do a lot more with personnel groupings, putting different people in different spots in and doing a lot of different things as far as eye candy and making teams adjust their personnel based on ours,” Burrow added. “So, I think the next couple months throughout training camp will kind of iron all that out and coaches will go back and self-scout for the next month after this and kind of iron that out, but I’m excited to kind of dive into that world.”
At the end of the day, Burrow remaining healthy is the most important thing for Cincinnati's offense in 2024, and beyond. The Bengals made it all the way to the AFC Championship in both of the seasons in which Burrow remained healthy, and they missed the playoffs in the two campaigns in which he suffered season-ending injuries.
Obviously there were other factors at play during those seasons, but it's also not a complete coincidence. When Burrow is healthy, Cincinnati's offense becomes very difficult to defend. Perhaps some added variety will help too.
