As they open training camp, the Cincinnati Bengals are testing an offensive wrinkle that could make their passing game tougher to defend.
Their first padded practice Monday showed how much work exists.
Cincinnati leaned heavily into snaps from under center, yet its rebuilt defensive front repeatedly disrupted the action before quarterback Joe Burrow could settle into the play.
The under-center action made a statistical breakdown from NFL analyst Warren Sharp especially relevant.
Warren Sharp wrote Monday that Burrow owns the largest performance split between shotgun and under-center dropbacks among the established quarterbacks in his study.
The numbers intiate a warning for an offense attempting to expand beyond the formation where its quarterback has been at his best.
Burrow’s Formation Split Is Difficult to Ignore
GettyCINCINNATI, OHIO – JULY 29: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals performs during the Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields on July 29, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Over the past two seasons, Sharp ranked Burrow third in expected points added per dropback from the shotgun at plus-0.14. Burrow ranked first with a 50% success rate and eighth at 7.5 yards per attempt.
But under center, his capability dropped sharply.
Burrow ranked 49th in EPA per dropback at minus-0.24, 30th with a 44% success rate and 53rd at 5.0 yards per attempt.
Sharp added that Cincinnati used shotgun on 94% of Burrow’s attempts during that span, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL.
The Bengals have leaned even further toward their comfort zone lately.
According to Sharp, 19 of Burrow’s latest 20 dropbacks came from the shotgun because the under-center game had become a “disaster.”
Cincinnati is trying to change the math in camp.
The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith observed that the offense went under center roughly twice as often Monday as he expected.
The early return was uneven.
A to Z Sports reported that Boye Mafe blew up multiple naked bootlegs, forcing Burrow to end plays before they developed.
One deep crossing completion to Mike Gesicki offered a glimpse of what the package could produce, but the defensive line controlled much of the under-center work.
Training camp gives the Bengals room to absorb failed reps and identify which concepts fit their personnel.
The regular season will demand a tighter call sheet, particularly when defenses can attack tendencies ramped up over several years.
Bengals Have Reason to Keep Testing the Change
GettyLANDOVER, MARYLAND – AUGUST 20: Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals talks with head coach Zac Taylor before the NFL preseason game against the Washington Football Team at FedExField on August 20, 2021 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
The poor historical split doesn’t wipe out Cincinnati’s reason for experimenting.
Defenses have increasingly protected the deep part of the field against Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
A to Z Sports, citing analyst Nate Tice, reported that the Bengals faced an extremely high rate of Cover 2 and the NFL’s highest rate of cloud coverage last season.
With Burrow on the field against cloud coverage, Cincinnati ranked 26th in EPA per play and 29th in explosive-play rate.
Those shells invite shorter completions while limiting the vertical shots that once made the Bengals especially dangerous.
Under-center play action can pull linebackers toward the line of scrimmage and create space behind them for deeper crossers and intermediate throws.
Burrow expressed confidence in handling the adjustment after the first practice.
“I’m very comfortable,” Burrow said, according to A to Z Sports. “If that’s what’s needed, that’s what I’ll do.”
The intent appeared immediately.
The Bengals’ official camp report noted that the first play of training camp was a play-action completion from Burrow to Chase.
Cincinnati can keep shotgun as the foundation while developing a smaller group of under-center calls it trusts.
The offense only needs enough credibility to make defenses honor the threat.
Monday’s practice showed why the Bengals must continue working through it before the ramifications count.
Bengals’ Joe Burrow Stats Expose Risk Behind Training Camp Experiment