The Cincinnati Bengals are a tough team to read.

A quarterback like Joe Burrow with weapons like Ja’Marr Chase and friends should be Super Bowl contenders.

But it’s not so simple. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor tends to produce slow starts to seasons and Burrow put up an MVP-like showing last year, only to miss the playoffs.

Hence, even professional bettors cringing away from the Bengals right now.

“They’re such a high-volatility team,” a professional bettor told Fox Sports’ Sam Panayotovich. “The quarterback and skill players give them a high ceiling. If they suffer a crucial injury or two on offense and the defense is worse, they can win five games. The big issue is the way they start [under head coach Zac Taylor]. How do you go 0-2 almost every year in the first two games? It’s alarming.

All fair points, even if the bettor suggests he still likes the Bengals in 11 games next season.

Taylor has stressed he has and will make changes to the offseason program in an effort to avoid those slow starts, at least.

The Bengals desperately need that trend to change: While they play Cleveland and Jacksonville to start the season, three of their first four games are road encounters. Dropping multiple games over the first month of the season would be a season-ruiner, hence everyone remaining bullish on Burrow’s team.