Despite Undefeated Start, Bengals Showing Need for Improvement in Key Areas

The Cincinnati Bengals look like one of the NFL's most dangerous teams after Sunday's 36-21 dismissal of the Kansas City Chiefs to move to 4-0, but problem areas stick out despite the strong start.

In fact, the Bengals cannot afford to dwell on the franchise's first 4-0 start since 2005.

Head coach Marvin Lewis sure isn't, as Fox 19's Joe Danneman captured:

Look, what the Bengals have accomplished so far isn't anything short of impressive. Conquering franchise history in Oakland to start the season was great. Going to Baltimore and displaying a clutch gene missing over the course of the past few seasons qualifies, too.

Sunday also happens to fit the bill. No matter the situation, Andy Dalton looked sharp and in control of the offense, the pocket, his accuracy and emotions, finishing 17-of-24 with 321 yards and a score, giving him nine scoring tosses on the year—a number he didn't hit until Week 11 last year.

Jeremy Hill recovered from a miserable two-week stretch, too, which started with two fumbles against the San Diego Chargers and continued as he was a non-factor against the Baltimore Ravens last week. Against the Chiefs, he ran just nine times but scored on three attempts. 

On defense, Geno Atkins and the line generated five sacks of Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith, flustered Andy Reid's offense and otherwise bent but refused to break and allow a touchdown.

So what's the Lewis quote about? 

Plenty, actually. Cincinnati continues to slowly develop a reputation as a team that lets the opposition hang around.

Case in point: On Sunday, Cincinnati jumped out to a 14-3 advantage after the first frame and looked ready to blow the game out of the water and cruise. Instead, the team didn't score in the second quarter, had drives stall due to silly flags and missed a field goal.

The Bengals didn't fully let the Chiefs back in it, but the team still hasn't exactly looked like one capable of applying Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians' strategy of "Put your foot on their throat," either.

Also concerning was Kansas City's ability to exploit Cincinnati's obvious defensive weaknesses. While the unit did a great job of holding the Chiefs to field goals, the offense ran through wide-open lanes, broke tackles with relative ease and targeted Cincinnati's stiff linebackers to great effect.

While it took 45 attempts from Smith, the Chiefs were able to target these areas on the way to some gaudy receiving numbers, especially in the per-catch department:

	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Jeremy Maclin	11	148	13.5	0
Jamaal Charles	6	70	11.7	0
Chris Conley	2	53	26.5	0
Travis Kelce	5	49	9.8	0
Jason Avant	4	43	10.8	0

On the ground, Jamaal Charles ran for almost seven yards per carry, gaining 75 yards on 11 opportunities.

Surrendering chunks and chunks of yardage to a team unable to finish when it gets close to paydirt is one thing. Doing so against elite competition, such as the Seattle Seahawks next weekend, could get the Bengals in serious trouble.

Jay Morrison of Cox Media Group put the numbers into historical perspective:

"

The 461 yards the #Bengals allowed today were the most in a winning effort since surrendering 595 in a 31-16 triumph of the Saints in 2006.

— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonCMG) October 4, 2015"

The problem isn't that Cincinnati can't shore up some of these issues. The staff can come out with better plans to counteract problems, and defenders can better wrap up carriers.

No, the issue would be the fact Kansas City just wrote the blueprint on how to move the ball against this defense. The Bengals can clean up some things, but they can't wipe away fundamental issues, such as a lack of athleticism in the linebacking corps. Vontaze Burfict isn't walking through that door soon.

The next team to weave lessons learned from Kansas City and control the clock for better than 36 minutes (as the Chiefs did Sunday)—while pairing it with a capable defense—could give the Bengals major problems.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

These teams might be few and far between, sure, but one locale they will consistently crop up? The playoffs.

After all, the postseason is the goal once more after four consecutive one-and-done appearances. Lewis and the staff, quote above or not, won't hesitate to zero in on issues now, because why go the whole season without attempting to improve only to have the same problems wipe the team from the postseason again?

In short, Cincinnati looks great. Dalton is playing the best football by a Bengals quarterback since 2005. The offense seems capable of scoring on anyone. Defensively, the issues aren't hard to see, but neither is the shutdown potential.

But it's important not to get lost in the hype of the team's start. These Bengals have grown up, but four games in, it's quite clear there is still work to be done for the team to keep this thing rolling and accomplish its end-game goals.

Just ask Lewis.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of October 4. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.