While Zac Taylor was Bengals head coach, he stuck to one main principle of his offense: Stay in 11 personnel, one tight end, three receivers, dare to stop it.
That made a lot of sense when those three receivers were Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd.
With Boyd in Tennessee, Joe Mixon in Houston and a plethora of unique weapons across the skill positions, Taylor has shifted into a game plan designed to offset two-high shells that every team uses to keep Cincinnati (and everyone else) from producing deep throws.
The Bengals have never run under 72 percent of their plays during a season in 11 personnel under Taylor, but so far they’re all the way down to 59.6 percent.
The use of two or more tight ends nearly tripled from last season.
Bengals TE usage under Zac Taylor
Year | 11 P | 12/13P |
|---|---|---|
2019 | 75.3% | 18.0% |
2020 | 75.3% | 15.5% |
2021 | 76.7% | 13.9% |
2022 | 82.4% | 6.6% |
2023 | 72.2% | 12.9% |
2024 | 59.6% | 33.1% |
Welcome to the latest development of the Cincinnati offense.
“That was part of where we saw this continue throughout the spring and training camp,” Taylor said. “When you have guys that you believe in, that we have multiple tight ends that we believe in, it allows you to be multiple and open it up.”
In the first half alone against Kansas City, Joe Burrow threw for more yards (111) to tight ends than any game in his career. Faced with fourth-and-4 on the first drive of the game he fired a dart over the middle to Mike Gesicki, who ran for 37 yards. Burrow found his way again for a critical third-down conversion in the fourth quarter when he finished with 91 yards.
Erick All hauled in a 19-yard day when he made his first pro catch. Even Drew Sample provided a spark over the top with the first two receptions of the day for positive gains.
One of the most interesting elements of using multiple tight ends wasn’t necessarily that the Bengals went to that personnel more. As Taylor said, you could see the trend as they recalibrated with new players out. The big change turned multiple tight ends into a passing weapon.
Noting the significant small sample disparity here, they’re on pace for more passes out of 12/13 personnel this year (179) than in the previous three years combined (141).
Judging by early returns, it increased their efficiency in the run and pass games.
Bengals rates on 12/13 staff
Year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Games | 137 | 63 | 121 | 32 |
Dropback % | 41.6% | 33.3% | 47.9% | 59.4% |
Yd/Ply | 4.6 | 5.6 | 4.6 | 5.7 |
Yds/Rush | 3.8 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 5 |
success % | 41.6% | 46.0% | 42.1% | 56.3% |
“It might be more like that in some games than others,” Taylor said. “Sometimes it gets you matchups in the run game. Sometimes it gets matchups in the pass game, even with your receivers.”
The Bengals are constantly looking for ways to take opponents out of a nickel defense and instead put three linebackers on the field. It’s been nearly impossible to do that in recent seasons, but one of the best methods to do it would be to punish teams in the run game.
This is a trend developing across the league where rushing efficiency increases dramatically while passing efficiency decreases as teams sit in deep coverages keeping everything in front of them against everyone.
The only touchdown drive of the opener against the Patriots came with the Bengals going 12 personnel with Everything and Sample then hammering New England in the run game all the way down the field. Each run qualified as a successful rush, including a 16-yard burst and a 5-yard touchdown run by Zack Moss.
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The Bengals’ success rate running out of 12/13 personnel the last three seasons was 38 percent. This season the number jumped to 73.3 percent. That figure leads the league and the NFL average is 45.8 percent.
Sure, the sample is small, but the early returns set up for an even deeper dive into what exactly is going on.
As with all trainers, paying attention to one’s own tendencies becomes an important part of the approach. Throwing the ball more with multiple tight ends on the field prevents opponents from focusing on the back when the handoff comes. In addition, Burrow’s ability to diagnose whether the coverage is better for a pass and control in an open throw increases the chances for success. Specifically, it increased the success rate by 15 percent during the last season.
That’s not only because of the catching of the 14 passes for 151 yards, but also the ability to hold the protection if necessary.
Alien invasion 👽
47 yards from @JoeyB to @NASAMAINE3!!
📺: #CINvsKC on CBS/@paramountplus pic.twitter.com/Hyai46JIzO
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 15, 2024
Consider a 47-yard bomb to Jermaine Burton on the first play of halftime. The Bengals lined up with two tight ends, one being Gesicki in motion to draw attention. Only, he ended up staying in to protect along with All and the maximum protection with two in the route gave 3.3 seconds with no one near Burrow to clear the route along the sideline.
All’s versatility stood out there. He won’t appear in the stat book beyond logging an offensive snap on the critical fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas, but he deserves help.
He was asked to block Chiefs dynamic edge George Karlaftis one-on-one on the play and stonewalled him for the full 4.2 seconds until Burrow released it. If fourth-and-16 goes the other way, his block could rightfully be viewed as a game-winning performance.
2nd TD on the day for @AndreiIosivas 👏
📺: #CINvsKC on CBS/Paramount
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/GAuB0plzN3– NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Really, any way Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher can plan plays that give Burrow more time — whether through personal lineups or play calling — the better for everyone. They planned those opportunities specifically using shotgun play during the first two weeks, with the biggest plays coming out of 12 personnel.
Burrow is 5 of 7 for 100 yards on shotgun plays this season, the 13.6 yards per attempt second best in the situation across the league. They had gains of 47 yards (Burton), 19 (All) and 12 (Provision) using that method, each of which provided at least 3.2 seconds to throw. Tight ends on the field add to the gravitation towards the run and make it harder for the defense to sell on the play action.
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How long will it be when Tee Higgins makes his anticipated return on Monday against the Commanders? His return makes it difficult to take Iosivas off the field in favor of the second tight end. Time will tell and the implementation will depend on a game plan.
What we do know is that the Bengals have been pretty good at these so far, they are a powerful counter to the league’s tendency to abandon light boxes in exchange for the safety of two-deep safeties designed to minimize explosive passes.
All of this is in direct contrast to what Taylor and the Bengals were in Cincinnati, but there is no denying the seeds of the next evolution of Burrow’s offense pierced and began to bloom from the Kansas City grass on Sunday.
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(Photo by Erick All Jr.: Erick W. Rasco / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
