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Four remaining playoff teams show Bengals have the right blueprint with Joe Burrow

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This time next year, the Cincinnati Bengals would like to be one of the four remaining teams in the hunt for a Super Bowl title.

But they do appear to be following the right blueprint.

That blueprint isn’t hard to see — offense trumps everything right now, mostly due to elite quarterbacks.

Look at the remaining names: Aaron Rodgers for the Green Bay Packers, Tom Brady for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen for the Buffalo Bills.

How good were those four quarterbacks this year? They were four of the five highest-graded names at Pro Football Focus:

Four of the five highest-graded QBs all advance to the AFC & NFC Championships
1. Aaron Rodgers (94.5)
2. Tom Brady (92.6)
4. Patrick Mahomes (92.5)
5. Josh Allen (90.9)
Deshaun Watson (92.5) ranked third... pic.twitter.com/PTq3XFJZ8c
— PFF (@PFF) January 18, 2021

The numbers were staggering too:

The four remaining quarterbacks in the NFL playoffs in 2020:
1,559 completions, 2,296 attempts, 18,216 yards, 163 touchdown passes, 33 interceptions, 109.4 passer rating.
Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Pat Mahomes, Josh Allen.
Is this the best Final 4 QBs in NFL playoffs history?
— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) January 18, 2021

All four teams ranked in the top six in scoring this season, averaging at least 30 points per game.

The lesson? Defense remains important, but it’s all about the quarterbacks. And the Bengals happen to have a generational quarterback prospect heading into his second year, albeit on a reconstructed knee. His flashes as a rookie were stunning at times and it was easy to see the gears turning as he worked through what would and wouldn’t work against pro defenses. Coaches think it’s a matter of time before he’s shoving around the rest of the AFC North.

So when the Bengals spend all of their valuable assets this offseason on offensive linemen and weapons for the offense, rest assured they have the right idea in mind.

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