Joe Burrow and the Bengals are establishing a better under center offense

CINCINNATI (AP) — For years, the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense has had Joe Burrow lining up in the shotgun at a high rate.

Entering 2026, the Bengals are set up to have Burrow line up under center more than he has in years past.

The Bengals had Burrow line up under center much more often in training camp this summer and Burrow likes the development.

Still, the Bengals won’t be able to know what they really have with their under center offense until the season starts on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“It’s been good,” Burrow said. “It’s hard to tell in practice because you’re not tackling, and a big part of the under center is the run game, and in the run game you have to break tackles to make it go, so we’ll see come the first game. But we’ve invested in it, and hopefully it pays off.”

Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher says that the trend around the NFL is that the most explosive offenses line up more often under center. That opens up a wider option of runs, and it creates opportunities to throw down the field on under center play-action passes.

While the Bengals offense has been good over the course of Burrow’s career, it hasn’t been explosive since the 2021 season.

Using more under center plays is a way to generate more of those explosive plays.

“I feel good about where we’re at schematically and everything,” coach Zac Taylor said. “We know what we’ve got to do to win these games. Every week’s a little different based on who we’re gonna play, but I feel like we’ve got a good inventory to draw from, and that can help us be successful.”

Bengals offensive line coach Scott Peters has been drilling under center blocking techniques with the offensive linemen all summer. The Bengals look as if they have the strongest offensive line of Burrow’s career this season. As a result, the coaching staff can expect that unit to create push in the running game when the Bengals look to establish more of a power offense.

“We’re progressing,” Peters said. “The emphasis of the offense working more under center, it’s something that hasn’t been as much of an emphasis in years past. The guys have done well. The run game is really coming along for sure. We’ve spent a lot of time emphasizing our run game under center. With that, we’ve developed those techniques. The guys have done well.”

The X factor for the Bengals’ under center offense could be tight end Erick All Jr.

In 2024, All’s rookie season, the Bengals started dabbling with more under center runs as All’s role increased. But right as those concepts started to really become a part of the offense’s identity, All suffered a torn ACL that kept him out for the rest of the 2024 season as well as all of 2025.

All is back in 2026, and he brings a unique skill set to the Bengals’ tight end room. He gives the offense the ability to play with a more powerful style.

“If I’m on the field and I’m playing and I’m blocking, I’m out there to try to win and be the guy that’s willing to go through hell and back to put the team in a better opportunity to win,” All said. “I want to be who I am. Be a dog when I get the opportunity to inline block. I want to show these guys I can put my hand in the ground and get after some big-name guys on the defensive side.”

While the Bengals can use more under center concepts this season, the strength of the offense is Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and the passing game. Still, the under center plays can give opposing defenses a different look and keep the offense more consistent.

“I can do whatever is asked of me,” Burrow said. “I have, and and I will. We haven’t done (under center) quite as much over the last several years, and we’ll see what we evolve into this year. But if that’s what’s needed, that’s what I’ll do.”

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow watches action from the sidelines during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an extraordinary gambit to reverse his party's sagging fortunes in November.

The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation.

“If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said during the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. "I will be called the Trump Dividend.”

He likened the payments to a corporation's distributions to shareholders, citing “our tremendous strength and success economically."

Congress would need to approve or otherwise acquiesce to the payment. The sum would far exceed U.S. tariff revenues even before the Supreme Court tossed much of the president’s tariff program last year.

The national debt last month topped $40 trillion for the first time.

Trump has frequently lamented that, during the modern era, the president's party almost always loses seats in Congress during the midterms, and he has looked for unorthodox ways to defy the trend, including this week's convention.

The move was reminiscent of billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to buy votes in last year’s Wisconsin state Supreme Court race, where he handed out million-dollar checks to voters to try to boost a candidate who ultimately lost.

Trump has discussed the possibility before but has never tied it to his party's electoral fortunes. Earlier this year, he proposed a $2,000 dividend and said he didn't think he needed approval from Congress.

Last year, Trump gave members of the military a $1,776 check that he called a “warrior dividend.”

“I will get a bill ready so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election,” Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio wrote on X late Wednesday. “Because Republicans (and America) will win!”

A $5,000 check would give each American more money than they received in direct government payments from COVID-19 relief measures during Trump’s first term.

Republicans are on defense as they look to defend their narrow House majority against strong headwinds. Trump is unpopular, and Americans overwhelmingly oppose the war in Iran. Even the Senate, which Republicans once were well-positioned to keep, is up for grabs.

President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks during the RNC Midterm Convention, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)