![\"Arizona](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/arizona-cardinals-v-cincinnati-bengals-nfl-2025-cincinnati-ohio-december-1-e1785074165558.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
CINCINNATI, OHIO – DECEMBER 28: Chase Brown #30 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs with the ball in the first quarter of a game against the Arizona Cardinals at Paycor Stadium on December 28, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> spent most of the 2025 season asking their passing game to carry an offense that rarely finished drives on the ground.<\/p>\n A new touchdown breakdown from Sharp Football<\/a> placed that imbalance in sharper focus. Only 23.4% of Cincinnati\u2019s offensive touchdowns came on rushing plays, the second-lowest rate in the NFL<\/a>. The Raiders<\/a> were the lone team below the Bengals at 20%.<\/p>\n rushing TDs as a % of all offensive TDs:<\/p>\n 51.9% \u2013 IND That number gives the Bengals an obvious area for improvement as they enter 2026, and it puts running back Chase Brown<\/a> in position to become one of the offense\u2019s biggest beneficiaries.<\/p>\n Bengals\u2019 Touchdown Split Stood Out Across NFL GettyBALTIMORE, MARYLAND \u2013 NOVEMBER 07: Joe Burrow #9 and head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals speak during the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> at M&T Bank Stadium on November 07, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n The Bengals scored 47 offensive touchdowns last season, with 36 coming through the air and 11 on the ground, per Sharp Football\u2019s full team breakdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cincinnati\u2019s 76.6% passing touchdown rate trailed only the Raiders\u2019 80% mark.<\/p>\n The contrast was significant across the league.<\/p>\n Rushing scores accounted for 38.6% of all offensive touchdowns in 2025, meaning the Bengals finished more than 15 percentage points below the NFL average.<\/p>\n Cincinnati\u2019s official team statistics<\/a> also showed how far the offense leaned toward the pass.<\/p>\n The Bengals finished with 4,244 passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns, compared with 1,591 rushing yards and 11 scores. Their 93.6 rushing yards per game ranked 29th in the NFL.<\/p>\n The imbalance continued even after Joe Burrow<\/a> underwent turf toe surgery and missed most of the season.<\/p>\n Joe Flacco<\/a> threw 13 touchdown passes in nine games for Cincinnati, keeping the passing production moving while Burrow recovered.<\/p>\n The approach made sense with Ja\u2019Marr Chase<\/a> and Tee Higgins<\/a> on the outside. Chase finished with 1,412 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, while Higgins gave Cincinnati another proven target in scoring territory.<\/p>\n But the split left the Bengals unusually dependent on quarterbacks and receivers to finish drives.<\/p>\n Sharp\u2019s research found that 87.3% of teams with at least 70% of their touchdowns coming through the air experienced a decline in passing touchdown share the following season.<\/p>\n Brown Can Turn It Around to Score More GettyCINCINNATI, OHIO \u2013 JANUARY 04: Mike Gesicki<\/a> #88 and Chase Brown #30 of the Cincinnati Bengals react after a touchdown during the first quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns<\/a> at Paycor Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Justin Casterline\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Brown already verified he could handle a substantial role, rushing for 1,019 yards and six touchdowns in 2025, then adding 69 catches for 437 yards and five receiving scores.<\/p>\n His 69 catches were the most in a single season by any player listed as a halfback, running back or fullback in Bengals history.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, his 11 total touchdowns matched his effectiveness from 2024, but the distribution showed how much room remains for growth on the ground.<\/p>\n Brown accounted for more than half of Cincinnati\u2019s rushing touchdowns despite finishing with only six.<\/p>\n His usage near the goal line suggests the opportunities were already there. The fourth-year back played 73.9% of the Bengals\u2019 red-zone snaps last season, the fifth-highest rate among NFL running backs.<\/p>\n A modest shift toward the league average could create several additional rushing touchdown opportunities without requiring the Bengals to overhaul their offense.<\/p>\n There is also a benefit for Burrow.<\/p>\n Cincinnati has built its identity around his accuracy and the matchup problems created by Chase and Higgins, but a more credible rushing attack helps its elite receivers by making play action a greater factor in scoring.<\/p>\n Linebackers and safeties can\u2019t sit as comfortably in passing lanes when Brown becomes a consistent threat to finish drives.<\/p>\n And of course, after another season outside the playoffs, the Bengals can\u2019t afford to leave scoring opportunities on the field.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDuncan Day<\/a> is a sports contributor for Heavy. He has covered NFL, NBA, hockey and soccer for various outlets, including NBC Sports, Boston.com, USA TODAY, Forbes, Bleacher Report, The Dallas Morning News and more. More about Duncan Day<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty CINCINNATI, OHIO – DECEMBER 28: Chase Brown #30 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs with the ball in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":956052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[228,227,256,2296,7,6],"class_list":["post-956051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cincinnati-bengals","tag-bengals","tag-cincinnati","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-cincinnatibengals","tag-football","tag-nfl"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116986868541651951","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=956051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/956051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/956052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=956051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=956051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=956051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n51.3% \u2013 WAS
\n51.2% \u2013 NYG
\n50.9% \u2013 BUF
\n50.0% \u2013 BAL
\n47.2% \u2013 ATL
\n45.5% \u2013 MIN
\n43.2% \u2013 SEA
\n43.1% \u2013 JAX
\n42.3% \u2013 NYJ
\n41.9% \u2013 DEN
\n41.5% \u2013 NE
\n40.9% \u2013 GB
\n40.4% \u2013 CHI
\n39.5% \u2013 PHI
\n39.5% \u2013 KC
\n38.5% \u2013 CLE
\n38.1% \u2013 PIT
\n37.8% \u2013 MIA
\n37.5% \u2013 DET<\/p>\n![\"Cincinnati](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cincinnati-bengals-v-baltimore-ravens-baltimore-maryland-november-07-joe-burrow.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cleveland](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cleveland-browns-v-cincinnati-bengals-nfl-2025-cincinnati-ohio-january-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n