The Cincinnati Bengals couldn’t have asked much more of their offense last season considering that Joe Burrow missed nine games with turf toe, as they finished 12th in football with 24.4 points per game. However, they haven’t made the playoffs in three years, so they’re still brainstorming ways to improve.

Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said on Wednesday that the organization wants to create more explosive plays on first and second down, and he also commented on Burrow, via NBC 5 Cincinnati’s Charlie Clifford.

“Spending more time under center is something we have to think about… Joe wants to win,” he said. “He is not going to tell you he can’t do anything.”

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9). © Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Burrow’s willingness to take snaps under center instead of shotgun exemplifies his desire to win at all costs. The two-time NFL Comeback Player of the Year has been through plenty of adversity, so using different plays is a small sacrifice in pursuit of the ultimate goal.

Cincinnati could use more variety, as it ranked second in football with an 81.6% shotgun rate this past season, per Sharp Football Analysis. It was only one of three teams that had a percentage of at least 80.

The Bengals also ranked last with an 11.2% play-action rate and were the only team below 12. Based on this data, more under-center play-action plays could help them be even better on offense next year.

Variety makes offenses harder to stop, as it prevents defenses from guessing their play calls. Plus, Cincinnati has the personnel to pull off a balanced attack. Burrow is one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, and star wideout Ja’Marr Chase finished fourth in the NFL with 1,412 receiving yards despite missing his starting signal-caller for over half the season in 2025. Running back Chase Brown also finished 17th with 1,019 rushing yards and 27th with 4.4 yards per carry, and wideout Tee Higgins was tied for second with 11 scoring catches.

That’s plenty of firepower between the pass and run games, so Pitcher and company must use that to their advantage. A more even mix between shotgun, under center, and play-action concepts will keep defenses on their heels.

However, a reason why the Bengals’ offense has been imbalanced is the defense. It ranked 30th in points allowed in 2025 and has been below-average in that category in each of the past three years, which has made the offense play from behind. Chasing the game leads to an overload of shotgun passing plays, as the offense doesn’t have as much time to run the ball.

If Cincinnati fixes the defense, it will make it easier to have a balanced offense, which would likely lead to more wins.