The Cincinnati Bengals were not good at any phase of their game on Sunday as they brutally lost a 48-10 contest to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.

In a game that featured backup quarterbacks, with Joe Burrow out with a toe injury and J.J. McCarthy having a high ankle sprain, the Bengals only gained 171 total yards. Cincinnati didn’t make backup quarterback Jake Browning’s life easy, as they averaged 2.5 yards per rush (53 yards).

On Monday, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor admitted to reporters that the run offense needed to be better and had a telling response when asked about the team’s “lack of physicality” against Minnesota.

“Yeah, it’s hard to explain,”  Taylor said of the Bengals not being physical, via Cleveland.com. “You don’t want to have to explain that, but that’s the truth,” Taylor admitted with notable candor. “We got to get moving off the ball and create some displacement so that there’s some space for these backs to make some hay.”

The Cincinnati Bengals need to be more physical

Taylor didn’t point the finger just at the offensive line. He said the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends needed to be physical on their assignments and blocks on running plays. He noted Browning needed to do better on his fakes.

The running game is going to be key for Cincinnati to win games while Burrow is sidelined. Obviously, the best weapons for the offense are receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but Browning isn’t going to be as reliable as Burrow. The running game will open up opportunities for Browning to hit his receivers.

The Bengals will play some physical defenses in the coming weeks. Following their Week 4 contest against the Denver Broncos, Cincinnati will play the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers in back-to-back weeks.  How the offense responds to Taylor’s message will be key to how the record looks when Burrow recovers from his surgery.