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Preview Warren Sharp’s Book: Predicting Bengals’ 2025 Season
Jun 2, 2026Warren SharpSharp Football Analysis
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You are probably hearing great things about Warren Sharp's 2026 Football Preview , but you're curious about what a team chapter looks like and how predictive and helpful it will be heading into next season. We've got you covered. » Download the 2025 Bengals Team Chapter We sent out Bengals under 9.5 wins to our futures subscribers before last season because of the concerns Warren Sharp outlined in his 2025 Football Preview. Joe Burrow has been sacked 164 times in the last four years, the second most in the NFL. This next line of thinking requires combining blitz rate with quick pressures. Naturally, the more you are blitzed, the more likely you are to be hit quickly by a defender. But look at this: Burrow has been blitzed at the #1 lowest rate of any QB over the last four years, BUT no QB has been hit by defenders more quickly than Burrow. Burrow has sustained 148 “quick hits” within 2.5 seconds of the snap, the most in the NFL. The next closest QB is Kirk Cousins at 119, followed by Jared Goff at 104. Burrow has been quick hit nearly 25% more than the #2 most hit QB in the NFL. That’s outrageous. He’s been quick hit on 6.2% of his dropbacks, #1 most in the NFL. Next are Cousins (5.7%) and Russell Wilson (4.8%). Compare Burrow, blitzed on 19.3% of dropbacks (#1 lowest rate), to Mahomes, blitzed at a similar 19.3% rate (slight difference in the rounding). Burrow: Hit within 2.5 seconds on 6.2% of dropbacks (#1) with 148 total quick hits Mahomes: Hit within 2.5 seconds on 2.3% of dropbacks (#17 of 19) with 65 total quick hits A third QB for comparison is Tua Tagovailoa . He’s blitzed at a slightly higher rate (20.6%) but still #4 lowest. Like Mahomes, he’s quick hit on just 3.2% of dropbacks (#14) with 61 total quick hits. Burrow is blitzed less often than both, but he is getting hit within 2.5 seconds at over double the rate. Specifically with the Bengals offensive line, let’s ask the logical question: What did the Bengals do to improve their line in the 2025 offseason after seeing these horrific stats? Well, RG Alex Cappa , who played in every game, was signed by the Raiders in free agency. The Bengals added G Lucas Patrick on a $2.1 million per year deal to compete for snaps in his absence. They also drafted G Dylan Fairchild in the third round and G Jalen Rivers in the fifth round. So, to answer your question, to simply have enough bodies, they added three guards: a cheap one in free agency and two mid-rounders. LT Orlando Brown is back after ranking #68 among tackles in blocking grade last year. RT Amarius Mims is back after ranking #69 among tackles in blocking grade last year. C Ted Karras is back after ranking #23 among centers in blocking grade last year. LG Cordell Volson is back after ranking #78 among guards in pressure while ranking #84 in penalties last year. If you get the sense this line could be a problem in 2025, we’re simpatico. And that means Burrow will once again be trying to make chicken salad out of chicken shit. You can read Warren's full thoughts by downloading the chapter, but pass blocking was once again a concern for the Bengals in 2025, as we expected. They ranked 28th in ESPN's pass block win rate, and Burrow played in just eight games because of a toe injury he suffered while taking a sack. » Download the 2025 Bengals Team Chapter Order Warren Sharp's 2026 Book Now Warren Sharp’s 500+ page full color PDF, the 2026 Football Preview , is unlike anything you have previously read. Stunning visualizations, incl…