Bengals' three-step plan for returning to Super Bowl

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFL Writer

Give Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor credit.

Few NFL observers expected his team to be playing in Super Bowl LVI after finishing 2-14 in Taylor’s first season as head coach in 2019 and 6-25-1 overall in his first two years with the team. But Cincinnati played tough in the big game on Sunday, making the Los Angeles Rams earn a 23-20 victory.

Now, Taylor must figure out how to engineer the right moves for a return appearance.

"It just makes you want to get back there even more than you thought," Taylor told reporters this week after the team announced a new deal that keeps the 38-year-old as Cincinnati’s coach through the 2026 season. "I always wanted to go coach again for a Super Bowl and win another Super Bowl. But once you get there, and it goes the way it did, it’s just an immediate fire that burns even stronger than it did before to do everything we have to do to get back."

With a franchise quarterback on his first contract in Joe Burrow and one of the most explosive receivers in the game in rookie Ja’Marr Chase, Taylor has great, foundational pieces to build around.

It’s just a matter of Taylor and Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin putting together an offseason that fixes the weaknesses on their roster.

Under Taylor, the Bengals earned the organization’s first postseason victory in 31 years and first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years, so they’re headed in the right direction.

Here are three things the Bengals need to address to get back to the Super Bowl.

1. Keep Joe Burrow upright

The Bengals fought hard up front, but eventually Cincinnati’s offensive line caved under constant pressure by Aaron Donald, Von Miller and the rest of the Rams/' defensive front. Los Angeles sacked Burrow seven times.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Bengals finished with a 14% pass-block win rate in the Super Bowl, the worst performance by any team in any game of the season.

That effort followed a season-long trend of struggling to protect Burrow. The Bengals allowed a league-high 70 sacks in the regular season and postseason combined.

They were not much better running at the ball consistently either, averaging just four yards per rush during the regular season, No. 26 in the NFL.

Left tackle Jonah Williams started all 16 games and gives Cincinnati a young building block up front. If Riley Reiff can return healthy during the offseason from a season-ending ankle injury, bringing him back on a reasonable deal in free agency would give Cincinnati an experienced option at right tackle.

But the quickest way to the quarterback is up the middle of the defense. The Bengals should look to add a talented, experienced center in free agency, such as Ryan Jensen of the Tampa Bay Bucs, to pair with Burrow.

Rams guard Austin Corbett also makes sense as a scheme fit — a player Taylor is familiar with from his Los Angeles coaching days.

The Bengals also could look to add a talented blocker through the draft, as FOX Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang suggests in his latest mock draft, such as Mississippi State left tackle Charles Cross.

Finally, Taylor must do a better job of protecting Burrow through scheme. The Bengals ran the most three-receiver sets in the NFL last season. Taylor should consider using more two-tight end or two-back sets to keep Burrow from taking big hits.

Burrow suffered an MCL strain to his right knee against the Rams, hobbled off the field on his own and fortunately did not miss time during the game. He had his rookie season cut short due to a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee. Protecting Burrow through scheme should be a top priority for Taylor.

2. Queen City a destination in free agency

As FOX Sports NFL analyst Bucky Brooks pointed out, the Bengals did a nice job in free agency last season by adding productive pieces such as defensive tackle DJ. Reader, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and slot defender Mike Hilton.

The Bengals are projected to have around $45 million in cap space heading into the new league year — more than sufficient to make a splash again in free agency.

With Burrow, Chase and Taylor, the Bengals are now a destination for free agents looking to chase a Super Bowl ring.

"Money is attractive to players, first of all," Taylor said. "No. 2, you want that combined with a place where they feel like they can win games and be a part of a place where they enjoy coming to work every single day.

"I think people have seen that from afar, from our own players’ actions, from how we’ve played on the field. And they see that this is a team that has a really solid foundation, that’s built for the future. I anticipate players wanting to be a part of that."

Along with offensive-line help, the Bengals could use more juice at edge rusher and a true No. 1 cornerback to help limit talented receivers such as Cooper Kupp and Odell Beckham Jr., who hurt them in the Super Bowl.

3. Re-sign key players, add another playmaker

Good teams stay competitive by identifying, developing and retaining foundational players to maintain organizational continuity.

Players set to hit free agency that fit that mold for the Bengals include safety Jesse Bates, tight end C.J Uzomah, defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi and B.J. Hill and Reiff.

Also, the Bengals settled for field goals too often in the red zone, scoring touchdowns inside the 20-yard line just 36% of the time in the postseason.

Cincinnati could use a cat-quick running back/receiver who can create separation and make people miss in the compact area near the red zone — someone such as Arizona Cardinals pending free-agent running back Chase Edmonds.

With Taylor and the Bengals putting together the right moves in the offseason, the Bengals could be in position to chase a Super Bowl ring again come September.

"We’re a young team, so you would like to think we would be back in this situation during the course of the next few years," Burrow said after his team’s Super Bowl loss. "So you take this and let it fuel you for the rest of our careers."

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.