The NFL landscape changes on a week-to-week basis, and look no further than the Cincinnati Bengals as a prime example of that this season.Through the first three weeks of the season, the Bengals were the only unbeaten team in the AFC and one of three in the NFL, along with the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles. After a Week 4 bye, they were blown out in Foxborough by New Englandwhich was 2-2 and entered that game with an overall sense of doom and gloom among Patriots fans as well as local and national media.Since their bye, the Bengals have gone 0-2-1 and have been outscored, 70-17, in their two losses, culminating with an ugly 27-0 defeat at Indianapolis last week.That somewhat coincides with an injury to their star wide receiver, as A.J. Green aggravated a toe injury in Week 2 but made it through Weeks 3 and 5 without any setbacks, only to do so again in practice prior to Week 6. The Bengals list him as questionableto play this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens due to the injury that has already kept him out of action in each of the last two weeks.The Cincinnati Enquirers Paul Dehner Jr. reported Friday the injury will likely hinder Green for the rest of the season. According to Dehner, Green likely won't be 100 percent at any point during the year, but finding the balance of tolerating pain and playing at a high level will be the key.Without Green, the Bengals were exposed by the Indianapolis Colts last week in a 27-0 defeat, their first shutout since Week 17 of the 2009 season.Among the lowlights, according to the ESPN Stats & Info department: The Bengals gained 135 yards on 54 plays, including 27 total yards in the first half, the fewest by any team in a half since Week 3 of last season. They converted one of 13 third downs, including zero of their first 11, and went three-and-out on their first eight drives.The Colts pitched a shutout because without Greenand Marvin Jones, who is on injured reserve and out for the season with a right ankle injurythe Bengals have no semblance of a deep threat.In his postgame grades piece for Cincinnati.com, Dehner wrote: The Colts stacked the box - daring the Bengals to throw - and used man-to-man press coverage, daring any receiver to win a battle deep. Indianapolis sat on all the screens and short passes like they knew what was coming next every time.The Bengals had 135 total yards, the fewest by any team since the Miami Dolphins in Week 16 last season, averaging 2.7 yards on 12 rushing attempts and 2.5 yards per passing attempt. The Colts were prepared for the Bengals' dink-and-dunk offense, and the Bengals made no adjustments despite only a 10-point halftime deficit.Ten of the Bengals' 13 third-down attempts came on 3rd-and-7 or longer scenarios, according to ESPNs Coley Harvey. Furthermore, the Bengals offense gained zero yardsor lost yardageon first down in six of their 14 drives during the game.Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson needs to get creative with his route combinations to give the Bengals a better chance moving forward. The problem is, sans Green and Jones, the Bengals receiving corps lacks speed and the ability to separate. Mohamed Sanu, the Bengals' acting No. 1 receiver, lacks these traits and is better suited in the short-passing game with the ability to pick up yards after the catch.Losing Jones for the season added salt to the wound for the Bengals, because their receiving depth was constructed around players best fit out of the slot: Sanu, Dane Sanzenbacher and Brandon Tate.Route-running issues aside, Tatebetter known as a return specialist, although he is now sharing those duties with Adam Jones, than receiving abilityoffers the ability to stretch the field and open up a medium passing game for the Bengals.Even a handful of passes 15 to 20 yards down the field and the threat of going longer would give opposing defenses something else to account for, as they could not sit on every short route on the chance the receiver goes deep.Quarterback Andy Dalton, who was not sacked through the first three weeks en route to the Bengals' 3-0 start, has only been pressured on 21 percent of drop backs, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), lowest rate in the league.Last weeks struggles aside, the Bengals offensive line ranks second in pass-blocking efficiency, per PFF, so the groundwork is set for Cincinnati to have success in the passing game, even without Green.Another disturbing trend for the Bengals offense is the lack of opportunity given to running backs Giovani Bernard and rookie Jeremy Hill. The duo combined for only seven first-half runs last week, and the running game was all but scraped with the Bengals playing from behind in the second half.The Ravens rank seventh in the league averaging 87.4 yards on the ground per game this season, but Bernard is the Bengals' top home run hitter with Green out, and their best chance at a win is by committing to the run.If the Ravens need to commit to stacking the box because of the threat to run, then it will open space for the passing game to be effective, as opposed to last week when the Colts were able to stack the box because there was no threat of a mid-to-deep passing game and won near the line of scrimmage as a result.Moving forward, the biggest frustration for Bengals fans would be that the toe injury has morphed from a day-to-day situationeven after his setback in practiceinto a week-to-week evaluation. Given how Green has already aggravated the injury twice, his long-term health should not be jeopardized at the expense of a quick fix for the Bengals offense.At the same timeand whether the Bengals coaching staff wants to admit it or notthere are clearly legitimate question marks to when he can return to game action and how effective he will be when he does.This Sunday is a gargantuan game between the AFC Norths top two teams, as the Bengals would move to within a half-game of the divisional lead with a win but fall to 2.5 games back with a loss, at which point they would probably be left hoping for a wild-card spot at best.The Bengals are still working on their blueprint to success without Green, but they have the pieces to get a "W"and even to put together another unbeaten three-week stretchwithout him. With home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns lurking in the rearview mirror, a division lead is still within reach, and a division title is obtainable when their Pro Bowl receiver returns.
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