Brian Callahan says Bengals offense needs contributors other than Ja’Marr Chase: ‘We have to be better’

The Cincinnati Bengals season has been anything but smooth and while things are looking up, there is also clearly a lot they need to work on, specifically the offense. After losing their first two games, the Bengals have won three of their last four matchups.

The offense is not looking like the Super Bowl-caliber group it has in the past and it was expected to look like this year. 

Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan spoke on what his squad needs in order to be more successful. He says more members of the offense need to get involved and make big players. Right now, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is the main playmaker.

“There needs to be more production on offense, in general, for guys not named Ja’Marr Chase,” Callahan said (via Mike Petraglia of CLSN Media). “End of the day, we’re not scoring enough. We’re not producing enough.”

So far this season, Chase has 50 receptions for 556 yards and three touchdowns, the most on the Bengals. In last week’s win against the Seattle Seahawks, Chase lead the team with six receptions for 80 yards.

Tyler Boyd has the second-most receiving yards on the team with 204 on 30 catches, along with one touchdown. Tee Higgins, who suffered a rib injury in Week 4, is third with 149 receiving yards on 14 receptions with two touchdowns. 

There is a lot of competition in the AFC this year and Callahan knows a mediocre record is not enough to get them where they need to be. 

“We have to be better than we’ve been,” Callahan said. “And I think we will be. But sometimes there’s a time and a place to tell the truth. And that’s the truth at this point.”

The Bengals are heading into their bye week and coming off a win over the Seahawks, which should give them some confidence, but the win was far from perfect, as it marked their fourth game with less than 20 points.

Through six weeks, Joe Burrow has thrown for 1,230 yards with a 63.4 completion percentage, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. He has been sacked 14 times.

The Bengals are currently in last place in the AFC North at 3-3, behind the Baltimore ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns.

Their next game is scheduled for Oct. 29 on the road against the San Francisco 49ers, who are arguably the best team in the league.