'Take the Damn Head Start and Use It' - Bengals OC Dan Pitcher Says Offense Has Advantage On Other Teams

The Bengals have a lot of winners in the passing game, and they have a lot of banked reps.

Burrow’s connection with college teammate Chase and fellow 2020 draft class member Higgins is obvious.

The chemistry with Iosivas already is in full bloom when it comes to off-script plays.

Gesicki and Burrow connected immediately last year on a personal level, and you really saw their comfort level with each other explode in the second half of the season.

And Brown enjoyed the same type of arc after taking over as the primary back following Zack Moss’s neck injury.

“It's been weird this offseason not having to really take a new guy that we're counting on under my wing and trying to teach him what I'm looking at and what we want on each play,” Burrow said after Tuesday’s practice. “That takes a lot of time. Signing Mike back was big. Andrei coming back. We have all the guys in the wide receiver room back. We've already had all these discussions, so now you can take it to the next level.”

If Jermaine Burton, last year’s third-round pick who had a tumultuous rookie season, can entry the fray, the Cincinnati passing game should rank among the best in the league and maybe the best in franchise history.

All of the time on task with routes, conversations and chemistry connections when the original play breaks down should make the 2025 Bengals offense even more dangerous than it was in 2024 when Burrow set personal and franchise records for passing yards and touchdown passes.

“Continuity is huge,” Pitcher said. “It gives you a sense of comfort as a coach, and it's nice because you can really work to build on. Each year is a new year, so that much is true, but one of the first things we talked about as a unit when we got together this spring is there are very few offenses in the league that have the experience and the time and the reps together that we have.

“Don't apologize for that. Take advantage of that,” Pitcher continued. “Build on the foundation that currently exists. I think we've done that this spring. It makes you feel good, but you have to use it. If someone's giving you a head start in the race, don't go back and start with everybody else. Take the damn head start and use it.”