Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher didn’t flinch when he saw the chart posted on a screen during the conversation.Why would he?He didn’t just know these numbers; he’s living them.The quest over the last six months to become more explosive dominated offensive conversations inside Paycor Stadium and in practice sessions on the fields across the street.Inside the OC-HC relationship between Dan Pitcher and Zac TaylorRobert MaysThe reality of what’s happened across the league, in stark contrast to Cincinnati, can’t be avoided.The top five teams in usage of under-center and under-center play action last year all finished in the top quarter of the NFL in explosive-play rate.
Explosives & under-center ranks (2025) TeamExplosive%UC% rankUCPA rankPatriots13.6%79Bills12.9%34Packers12.7%1213Rams12.6%11Lions12.5%43Ravens12.4%1321Bears12.3%52Seahawks12.1%25Bengals9.9% (22nd)3130
Six of those eight made the playoffs. Three were playing conference championship weekend, including both Super Bowl participants.“If you just look at the landscape of the league right now and how defenses have evolved, and if you truly are open to learning from your peers, it’s not hard to make the connection,” Pitcher said. “It kind of smacks you in the face.”NFL teams over the last three seasons have produced 1,499 explosive completions while using under-center play action.Joe Burrow produced one.That’s right. One.The number hits like another smack to the face.It also sparked an interesting debate as the Bengals evolve the offense in 2026. A group returning nearly every coach and all 11 starters offers the benefit of a strong foundation.For now, that might involve finally putting Burrow under center more often, something he’s rarely done during his seven-year career.“We’re trying to find ways to be explosive in the run game and then try to find some things off of that that can get us a couple of easy explosives,” Burrow said. “We’re committed to that. Our coaching staff has done a great job this offseason of putting a plan together to try to execute that. So I’m excited to see how it works out.”You could see Burrow working on under-center play-action drops no matter the day during the Bengals’ offseason program.He’s made clear behind the scenes that he’s on board with tinkering in this realm. He sees the same numbers everyone else does, he knows the trends, and he wants the explosives.These portions of the playbook have always existed; they’ve just typically stayed there rather than reaching gameday.“It’s what’s been effective,” Burrow said before offering a rundown of how defenses have changed their plan against the Bengals throughout his career.
