Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Chris Roling

Bengals will need to stop the slow starts to overcome Chiefs in Week 2

The Cincinnati Bengals will need to avoid the slow start in 2024 that has hampered the team’s past few seasons.

This was an obvious change for the team, yet it was amplified all the more on Tuesday when the NFL revealed that the Bengals would visit the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.

Which is to say that the slow-starting issues could have massive AFC implications within the first two weeks of the season.

An offer for Bengals fans

For the best local Cincinnati news, sports, entertainment and culture coverage, subscribe to Cincinnati.com.

The Bengals have started the last two seasons 0-2. They had that memorable 10 straight wins in 2022 before losing to the Chiefs in the AFC title game. But they also had last year, where Burrow’s calf injury over the summer played a big role in the 0-2 start, 3-3 mark by the bye and 5-6 record by December.

Considering Burrow has talked differently about his pushing through pain this time, there’s certainly hope this is a normal summer for the star passer — but the NFL is certainly hedging its bets by putting Bengals vs. Chiefs early in the season.

An x-factor when wondering if the Bengals can overcome the slow starts and shock the Chiefs in Week 2 is the idea the offense plans to look quite a bit different in 2024. More of Mike Gesicki in the slot, a fresh running back room, more under-center looks and other factors might just provide the juice and surprise necessary to steal a win in Arrowhead.

Either way, we’ll know whether the slow start is real quickly given the Week 2 showdown.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.