The Cincinnati Bengals put together one of their better offensive performances of the season in a 34-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 8 at the Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain. Moreover, Joe Burrow had plenty of help from his top two receivers, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.
Higgins finished with five catches on six targets for 32 yards and two touchdowns, while Chase was the game’s leading receiver with 10 receptions for 155 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. Burrow was equally impressive, completing 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards, three touchdowns, and a 140.1 passer rating.
Despite the offensive success through the air, Cincinnati still has an area that needs attention. The Bengals have yet to establish a dependable presence in their ground game, leaving questions about who can consistently shoulder the workload and give the offense another dimension.
With the 4 pm ET trade deadline on Nov. 10 nearing, with only a handful of hours for teams to make deals, the Bengals are being urged by The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen to put their chips on the table and land the Indianapolis Colts‘ Jonathan Taylor.
“Imagine if [the Bengals] traded for Taylor, one of the few running backs who terrify defensive coordinators,” Nguyen wrote in a Nov. 10 article. “Would it be overkill to invest that much into your offense? Yes. But it would be spectacular.
“Defenses would still likely prioritize stopping explosive pass plays, but then Taylor would get to run against light boxes. And if Taylor starts ripping 10-plus-yard runs and defenses put an extra safety in the box, we just saw what the Bengals could do against those defenses. The Bengals offense would be borderline unstoppable.”
Should Cincinnati Trade a First Round Pick?
Furthermore, Nguyen believes that due to the Bengals’ offensive line playing its best in the Burrow era, it might be time to get aggressive even if it means trading a first-round pick.
“The Indianapolis Colts are holding out for a first-round pick,” Nguyen added in his article. “The Bengals offensive line is playing the best it has in Burrow’s career, and the defense has played well enough to complement an elite offense.
“Should they go all-in? In a wide-open AFC in which no team other than the Jacksonville Jaguars has really separated, it could be the right time to overpay for a force multiplier.”
Dan Orlovsky Also Urges Bengals to Trade for Jonathan Taylor
Nguyen isn’t alone in saying that the Bengals should roll the dice in these final hours of the trade deadline. Recently, ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky urged Cincinnati to make an aggressive move for Taylor.
“If I were Cincinnati, I’d be calling Indy today,” Orlovsky said during a No. 9 appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “What does it take to get Jonathan Taylor? I firmly am in that camp right now because you can’t cover him one-on-one because [Mike] Gesicki owns the middle of the field. Ja’Marr was on one [against the Falcons on Nov. 8].
“I love the way that they move Ja’Marr around. They don’t just put him in one spot. They move him all over the place. But if this team added Jonathan Taylor, then I think I would swing to, ‘Yep, they can play their style and go win the whole thing.'”
Bengals Issued Strong Trade Deadline Take on Colts’ Jonathan Taylor