Bengals might have a Chase Brown problem

Billy Heyen

Bengals might have a Chase Brown problem image

Nothing went right for the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in the worst loss in franchise history.

But the defeat to the Minnesota Vikings certainly wasn't helped by the play of running back Chase Brown, whose brutal start to the season continued.

ESPN's Ben Baby shared the stat that might be most concerning: 

"Brown had minus-22 rushing yards over expectation, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That means Brown did not get nearly as many yards as he should have on his 10 carries, which didn't help the Bengals' rough offensive performance. He finished with 3 yards total."

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That's a remarkable negative total of yards relative to expectation.

On just 10 carries, Brown got 2.2 yards fewer per tote than what was expected based on the Next Gen Stats projections, which factor in where everyone is on the field on every play. On run plays, that essentially counts for blockers, defenders and open space.

And Brown couldn't take advantage of any of his opportunities.

In Week 1, Brown had 21 carries for 43 yards, just over two yards per carry.

Then in Week 2, it was 16 rushes for 47 yards, which is 2.9 yards per run.

And now a game with 10 totes for just three yards.

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The Bengals' offense is without Joe Burrow, which might be enough to ruin the season.

But the least that Brown can do is support Jake Browning by giving him a real running game. And if Brown doesn't start doing that soon, the Bengals might have to consider other options.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle