Zac Taylor explains why Chase Brown had his best game seven weeks into the Bengals' season

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Oct 20, 2025 8:36 PM ET

When the Cincinnati Bengals were 2-0 and then found themselves at 2-4, their rushing was subpar throughout it all. Chase Brown had to be the figurehead for it.

Brown had just 202 rushing yards on 74 carries through the first six weeks of the year. His 2.73 yards per attempt ranked 29th out of 30 running backs with at least 60 carries.

Like most cases with a running back, the problems with production are outside of his control. Brown had to deal with not only porous blocking in front of him, but was also dealt with game situations in which finding comfortability pounding the rock wasn't possible. Falling into early deficits and eventually losing limited how much impact Brown could make.

This changed dramatically last Thursday night, and Brown reaped the benefits.

Bengals' run game finally operated freely with Chase Brown

While Joe Flacco was dealing at quarterback, Brown crossed both the 50-yard and 100-yard threshold for the first time all season. He ended up with 108 yards on the ground, and he needed just 11 carries to get there in the Bengals' 33-31 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Nothing schematically special occurred according to head coach Zac Taylor. Circumstances that haven't been seen since Week 1 were the reasoning from his perspective.

"We found a rhythm. We played with the lead for the first time in forever at halftime," Taylor told reporters Monday afternoon. "I don't know when the last time we had a halftime lead was, Cleveland. that has everything to do with it. So it wasn't just a great game in terms of breakout, it was none of that. It was just, we finally were playing with a lead and get a chance to be patient with the entirety of your offense and stuff like that can happen."

Cincinnati was down by seven points when Brown had his first four carries, but he still gained 37 yards from them. His longest rush of the night, a 37-yarder, occurred when the deficit was just three points.

Most of Brown's attempts came after the Bengals took a lead they did not lose, but he found success regardless of the score. Credit his vision, the blocking in front of him, and perhaps the morale of the offense all together for making it happen.

"You got a chance to get some first downs. You get a chance to call everything that's on your call sheet and find a rhythm and gain some confidence as a group on offense," Taylor said. "And then you get to keep them off guard as best you can with a bunch of different looks."

Neutral game scripts definitely makes it easier to run the football, even with an offensive line with much to prove and a tailback riding a cold streak. Brown finally got to the light at the end of the tunnel, and there's 10 more games for him to build off his stellar night at the office.