CINCINNATI -- When the Cincinnati Bengals needed to make something happen, quarterback Joe Burrow and the offense relied on what they knew best.
Over the past several months, Cincinnati took a slew of reps with Burrow lined up under center, an indication that Cincinnati wanted to expand the menu of options available to the former MVP finalist.
But ultimately, Burrow and Cincinnati went into shotgun.
Through four games, the Bengals are still trying to figure out the best way to operate offensively. And it puts the mission for this Sunday's road game against the Miami Dolphins (0-4) squarely into focus as the Bengals try to find what parts of the offense fit.
"We have to improve at them -- we can't just abandon them -- and find what our identity is going to be these last three quarters of the season," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said Monday.
What the Bengals are doing under center falls squarely into that category. Entering Sunday, Cincinnati is last in the NFL in yards per play while under center (3.3). And after an offseason of trying to put Burrow beneath center Ted Karras, the Bengals lead the NFL in shotgun usage (72.3%).
Those numbers are heavily skewed because of what happened in the team's recent outing. The Bengals had 15 carries for just 23 yards. According to ESPN Research, that was Cincinnati's lowest total since the 2012 season.
And with that not working, Cincinnati leaned on throwing the ball. Burrow had the fourth-most dropbacks in his career (58) and the Bengals were in shotgun formation on 85.5% of the team's snaps.
After the 22-17 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday after 2-0 start, Burrow talked about throwing the ball even more when the run game is struggling.
A few days later -- and after he had some time to cool off -- a more sensible approach prevailed.
"We have to be more balanced going forward, and a big part of that is the run game," Burrow said.
And Cincinnati's ever-confident and contact-embracing quarterback also espoused his belief that the team shouldn't abandon its vision of an offense that can operate effectively from under center.
"We obviously have to be better at it," Burrow said. "We're still going to stick with it and keep getting reps invested in that. I think it's very valuable, so we have to be able to do it. But we need to be better."
Getting better in one specific area is crucial. As Burrow explained, being able to use play-action passes from under center requires having a run game that defenses actually respect. Otherwise, a team's offensive linemen will be subjected to edge rushers who didn't buy the fake and are screaming toward the quarterback.
"That's not a recipe for success," Burrow said.
The Bengals have worked at trying to build a more explosive rushing attack. In the weeks leading up to the Jacksonville loss, Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor talked about the team being close to finding big runs that can make things easier on the offense.
Against the Jaguars, one of the best run defenses in the league, that felt distant. This weekend should provide a better opportunity to find that offensive identity. The Dolphins are ranked 29th in the league in points allowed per drive.
As for what defines a success under center attack, Taylor kept his answer simple.
"Scoring points," he said.
Added Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher: "It's our job as coaches to evaluate where we're at in any given moment -- in a season, in a game -- and make the decisions that we think are going to best lead us in the right direction."
